UC-NRLF 


B    3    mi    37E 


PIPE 


Engineering 
Library 


Mpx- 

PIPE 

afw 


BY 

R.  0.  ]V 


NEW    YORK 

THE    STIRLING    PRESS 

1917 


Engineering 
Library 


Copyright'  IBM*,  by 
,R.  C- 


Introduction 

To  the  men  who  are  responsible 
for  the  installation  of  conduits  that 
are  to  be  used  not  only  for  the 
present,  but  for  future  generations, 
the  data  herein  is  presented  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  serve  to  point  the 
way  to  the  selection  of  that  material 
which  will  be  most  durable  and 
economical. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I.     HISTORICAL 

Importance  of  Pipe  Question — Early 
Babylonian  Days — Delhi  Pillar — Earliest 
Iron  Pipe — Its  Use  in  France — Versailles 
Park  Installation — First  Laid  in  London- 
Bell  and  Spigot  Pipe  Designed — Introduced 
into  United  States — Philadelphia  Installation 
—New  York — History  of  the  Manhattan 
Company — Description  of  New  York's  Pres- 
ent and  Future  Water  Supply — Boston's 
Water  Supply  System — Development  of  Gas 
Industry — "Historical  Section  of  Cast  Iron 
Pipe" — Description  of  Astoria  Gas  Tubes — 
Extract  from  Paper  by  W.  R.  Addicks— 
Total  Water  and  Gas  Pipe  in  New  York, 
Boston  and  Philadelphia 9 


CHAPTER  II.     MATERIALS  AND  METHODS  OF  MAKING 
METAL  PIPE 

Wide  Distribution  of  Iron — Primitive 
Smelting  Furnace — Native  Iron — Character- 
istics of  Iron — The  Three  Commercial  Forms 
of  Iron — Cast  Iron — Description  of  Cast 
Iron  Pipe  Making — Statement  of  a  Water 
Works  Superintendent — Wrought  Iron- 
Steel — Description  of  Steel  Making — Bes- 
semer Process — Open  Hearth  Process — 
Wrought  Iron  and  Steel  Pipe  Making — Com- 
parison of  Methods 39 

5 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   III.     SOME   TECHNICAL  AND   HISTORICAL 
DATA  ON  METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 

Rust — Structural  Theory — Paper  by  the 
Author — Paper  by  Harry  Y.  Carson — Com- 
parative Thickness  of  Metal  Pipe — Loss  by 
Corrosion — Experiences  with  Wrought  Iron 
Pipe — Salem,  Mass. — Lowell,  Mass. — Wor- 
cester, Mass. — Cincinnati,  Ohio — Probable 
Life  of  Steel  Pipe — Rochester,  N.  Y.— Cool- 
gardie,  Australia — Troy,  N.  Y. — Atlantic 
City,  N.  J—  Average  of  Useful  Life  of  Steel 
Pipe — Probable  Life  of  Cast  Iron  Pipe- 
Early  Installations  in  Europe — Tubercu- 
lation — Electrolysis — Coating  for  Protection 
Engineer's  Estimate  of  Relative  Value — 
Comments  by  Eminent  Authorities- — Report 
of  C.  M.  Saville,  Chief  Engineer,  to  Hartford, 
Conn.,  Water  Board — Report  of  R.  L.  Hay- 
cock, Water  Works  Engineer,  to  the  City  of 
Ottawa,  Canada — Depreciation  Data — Sum- 
mary    65 

CHAPTER  IV.     WOOD  PIPE 

Old  Bored  Logs— Wood  Stave  Pipe- 
Market — Weakness  of  Product — A  "Report 
on  Life  of  Wood  Pipe" — Experience  at 
Lynchburg,  Va. — Extracts  from  Engineering 
Papers — Decision  of  the  Conservation  Com- 
mission, State  of  New  York — Letters  from 
Rogers,  Texas 143 

CONCLUSION..  165 


CHAPTER  I 


HISTORICAL 


Pipe  and  the  Public  Welfare 

CHAPTER  I 


AMONG  the  -iiiaiiy-  questions  which  City 
and  Consulting  Engineers,  members  of 
Water  Boards  or  Street  and  Lighting 
Committees  of  our  growing  municipalities  are 
called  upon  to  consider,  none  is  of  more  vital 
importance  than  the  life  of  pipe  used  for 
water  and  gas  mains. 

The  history  of  pipe  is  the  history  of  civili- 
zation —  upon  no  other  single  product  have 
the  great  cities  of  the  world  depended  in  such 
large  measure  for  their  health  and  comfort. 

Beginning  with  the  crude  clay  pipe  of  early 
Babylonian  days,  4000  years  B.C.,  there  has 
been  a  constant  effort  to  reach  the  ideal  —  a 
pipe  that  would  endure  under  ground. 

Iron  was  known  to  man  in  prehistoric  ages, 
and  there  are  many  evidences  of  its  use  in 
early  history,  most  notable  of  which  is  the 
iron  column  of  Delhi,  in  India,  a  Hindu 
monument  about  sixteen  inches  diameter 
and  fifty  feet  long,  believed  to  have  been 

9 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


erected  about  1000  B.C.  However,  iron  does 
not  seem  to  have  played  an  important  part 
in  the  world's  activities,  aside  from  its  use  in 
the  art  of  war,  until  the  fourteenth  or  fifteenth 

century  of  our  present 
era. 

Indeed,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  definite  knowl- 
edge as  to  when  and 
where  the  first  iron 
pipe  was  made,  it  may 
well  be  assumed  that 
it  followed  closely  up- 
on the  development  of, 
or  was  produced  coin- 
cidently  with,  that 
greatest  of  all  engines 
of  war,  the  cannon,  the 
earliest  mention  of 
which  is  found  in  the  year  book  of  the  city 
of  Ghent,  dated  1313. 

The  fact  that  no  record  is  found  of  the  pro- 
duction or  use  of  iron  pipe  during  the  three 
hundred  and  fifty  years  following  this  date, 
however,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  if  made 
at  all  it  was  in  very  limited  quantities,  and 
up  to  the  seventeenth  century  the  pipe  most 
commonly  used  throughout  England  and 
France  was  of  cast  lead  or  bored  logs, 

10 


Courtesy  "The  Valve  World' 
The  Pillar  at  Delhi,  India 

(From  Thurston's  "Materials  of 
Construction,"  Vol.  I) 


HISTORICAL 


Water  Pipe 

The  earliest  authentic  records  of  the  installa- 
tion of  cast  iron  pipe  for  underground  water 
conduits  relate  to  several  lines  of  various 
diameters  laid,  by  order  of  Louis  XIV,  near 
Paris,  from  the  reservoirs  of  Picardie  to  those 
of  Montbauron,  together  with  the  spring  water 
conduit,  the  whole  supplying  the  town  and 
parks  of  Versailles.  The  important  details  of 
these  installations  are  given  in  a  paper  on 
"The  Life  of  Cast  Iron  Pipe,''  by  C.  Cavallier, 
in  the 
Journal 
of  the 
New 
England 
Water 
Works 
Associa- 
t  i  o  n  , 
June 
1904,  page  218,  as  follows: 

"According  to  the  Ministry  of  Public  In- 
struction and  Art,  the  conduits  which  supply 
the  water  to  the  great  fountains  in  the  park  at 
Versailles  are  of  cast  iron,  and  date  from  the 
same  period  as  the  park  itself.  The  most 
important  are  as  follows: 

11 


Fountains  in  the  Park  at  Versailles,  France 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


"Three  pipes,  500  millimeters  (20  inches) 
in  diameter,  3,000  meters  (10,000  feet)  long, 
which  bring  the  water  from  the  Park  of  the 
Trappists  to  the  reservoirs  of  Montbauron. 

"Two  pipes,  500  millimeters  in  diameter  and 
2,250  meters  (7,500  feet)  long,  and  three  pipes, 
325  millimeters  (13  inches)  in  diameter  and 
1,500  meters  (5,000  feet)  long,  which  conveys 
the  water  from  the  reservoir  of  Montbauron 
to  the  principal  gate  house. 

:<Two  pipes,  500  millimeters  in  diameter  and 
3,000  meters  (10,000  feet)  long,  and  one  pipe, 
325  millimeters  in  diameter  and  1,500  meters 
(5,000  feet)  long,  which  bring  water  from  the 
reservoirs  of  Gobert  to  the  reservoirs  of  1'Aile. 

"All  of  these  pipes  were  laid  in  1685,  or  219 
years  ago.  The  conduit  of  Chevreloup,  from  the 
reservoir  of  1'Aile  to  the  Trianon,  325  milli- 
meters in  diameter  and  3,500  meters  (11,500 
feet)  long,  was  laid  in  1687,  or  217  years  ago. 

"Several  old  pipes  of  various  diameters  for 
conveying  water  from  the  reservoirs  of  Pi- 
cardie  to  those  of  Montbauron,  for  distribu- 
tion within  the  parks  and  in  the  town,  and 
the  spring  water  conduit,  having  in  all  a 
length  of  about  8,000  meters  (26,000  feet), 
were  laid  between  1664  and  1688,  or  from  216 
to  240  years  ago. 

"All  of  these  pipe  lines  consist  of  pipes  one 
12 


HISTORICAL 


meter  in  length,  joined  by  means  of  bolted 
flanges.  They  are  of  considerable  weight  and 
still  serve  their  purpose  satisfactorily. 

"The  few  repairs  which  have  been  required 
have  generally  been  necessitated  by  the  bad 
condition  of  the  flange  bolts,  which  have 
rusted  out." 

Mr.  Cavallier  also  gives  the  following  details 
in  regard  to  early  installations  of  pipe  in 
several  other  French  towns : 

"According  to  Mr.  Lamandiere,  engineer 
and  superintendent  of  the  Rheims  Water 
Works,  the  water  supply  of  that  town  was 
established  in  1748  by  Mr.  Godinet,  canon  of 
the  cathedral.  This  system  was  in  more  or 
less  regular  service  until  1840.  At  this  time 
a  new  system,  much  better  constructed,  was 
built  and  is  still  in  operation,  although  with 
considerable  modifications  and  enlargements. 

'The  distribution  pipes  in  Canon  Godinet's 
system  were  of  lead.  In  building  the  pumping 
works  some  cast  iron  pipes  of  the  system 
built  in  1748  were  found.  These  were  about 
20  centimeters  (8  inches)  in  diameter  and 
1.20  meters  (4  feet)  long,  with  square  flanges. 
These  pipes  were  in  good  condition  when 
found. 

"Mr.  Delechamps,  Engineer  and  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Works  of  Claremont- 

13 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


Ferrand,  furnishes  the  following  notes  relating 
to  the  old  cast  iron  water  pipes  of  that  town : 

"  'On  December  5,  1730,  a  meeting  of  the 
town  council  noted  that  the  conduit  was  con- 
siderably damaged.  Sixteen  years  later,  on 
September  14,  1746,  the  commissioners  of 
fountains  made  an  agreement  with  the  Sieur 
Marchais,  iron  merchant  of  Paris,  for  furnish- 
ing pipes  of  cast  iron  for  the  fountains.  The 
works  were  constructed  about  1748-49.  The 
conduit,  for  a  length  of  1,570  meters  (5,150 
feet),  consists  of  1,555  tubes,  5  or  6  inches  in 
diameter  and  3  feet  long.  On  the  plain  where 
the  pressure  is  greatest  the  pipes  are  nine 
lines  (0.8  inch)  in  thickness,  elsewhere  they 
are  six  lines  (0.5  inch)  thick. 

"  Tn  1867  the  old  conduit  was  paralleled  by 
cast  iron  pipes  with  lead  joints,  which  was  to 
supplement  the  old  system.  This  (referring 
to  the  old  system)  is  now  out  of  service  at 
several  points. 

'The  pipes  were  cast  horizontally.  The 
flange  joints  were  made  with  a  thick  lead 
gasket,  sometimes  as  much  as  23  millimeters 
(%  inch)  in  thickness.  The  system  is  under  a 
considerable  pressure.' 

"According  to  Mr.  Andrieu,  Engineer  and 
Superintendent  of  Public  Works  of  Saint- 
Etienne,  there  are  in  that  city  some  cast  iron 

14 


HISTORICAL 


pipes  which  have  been  in  service  since  1782, 
or  for  122  years." 

The  city  of  London  laid  cast  lead  pipe  as 
early  as  1235  to  1285  A.  D.,  and  also  experi- 
mented with  "Red  earth,  baked,"  and  with 
pipes  of  stone.  The  first  extensive  water 
works  in  London  were  built  by  Sir  Hugh 
Middleton,  between  1609  and  1613,  and  fol- 
lowing the  construction  of  a  boarded  aqueduct, 


Ancient  Pumping  Plant  at  Marley 
(From  an  old  wood  cut) 

called  the  "New  River,"  over  400  miles  of 
wooden  mains  were  installed. 

The  great  fire  of  1666  destroyed  much  of 
both  the  lead  and  wooden  pipe  and  except 
for  house  services  the  use  of  lead  was  largely 
discontinued.  It  was  also  found  necessary  to 
take  up  and  replace  each  year  an  average  of 
20  miles  of  the  wooden  pipe  which  had  been 
injured  or  proven  defective,  so  that  a  complete 
renewal  was  made  every  20  years. 

15 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


As  early  as  1746  the  Chelsea  Water  Go.,  of 
London,  laid  a  12  inch  flanged  cast  iron  pipe 
which  wTas  relaid  in  1791  on  account  of  the 
joints  "being  perished."  It  was  the  engineer 
of  that  water  company,  Mr.  Thomas  Simpson, 
who  designed  the  first  bell  and  spigot  pipe. 
This  was  about  1785,  at  wrhich  time  an  experi- 
mental section  of  pipe  was  laid  with  lead 
joints,  which  proved 
so  successful  that  the 
entire  systems  of  all  the 
London  companies 
were  gradually  relaid 
with  cast  iron  pipe,  the 
uninterrupted  service 
record  of  which  now 
covers  100  to  125 
years. 

In  the  United  States, 
following  the  European 

,  ,          ,  Old  Bored  Logs  in  Philadelphia 

practice,      bored     logs 

were  laid  toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century  in  certain  of  the  larger  cities.  Speci- 
mens of  log  pipes  18  inches  in  outside  diameter, 
with  a  6  inch  bore,  laid  in  1799,  may  be  seen 
in  the  Franklin  Institute  in  Philadelphia, 
together  with  the  following  note: 

"Prior  to  the  year  1817  all  water  mains  were 
of  wood,  and  considerable  trouble  was  expe- 

16 


HISTORICAL 


rienced  on  account  of  insufficient  strength. 
The  Watering  Committee  decided  to  import 
from  England  a  small  quantity  of  cast  iron 
pipe  to  be  laid  as  an  experiment.  The  results 
were  so  satisfactory  that  from  time  to  time  iron 
pipes  were  gradually  substituted  for  wood." 

These  pipes  were  of  bell  and  spigot  type,  in 
9  foot  lengths,  and  further  details  are  con- 
tained in  a  paper  read  before  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  October  7,  1914, 
by  Marshall  R. 
Pugh,  C.  E.,  a 
prominent  mem- 
ber of  that  Soci- 
ety, Who  qUOteS  Cast  Iron  Pipe  Laid  in  Philadelphia,  1831 
as  his  ailthoritV  RemovetJ  1915»  in  practically  perfect  condition 

the  Philadelphia  Bureau  of  Water,  as  follows: 
"A  curious  feature  about  them  was  that 
each  length  had  three  or  four  ribs,  or  rings, 
about  it,  approximately  lj/2  inches  wide, 
which  were  presumably  to  afford  places  with 
heavier  walls  in  which  to  tap  the  pipe.  These 
pipes  are  of  particular  interest,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  they  are  still  in  use  after  95  years, 
with  every  evidence  of  continuing  to  give  a 
good  account  of  themselves.  Though  forming 
only  an  infinitesimal  portion  of  the  present 
distribution  system,  they,  nevertheless,  con- 
stitute quite  a  considerable  mileage. 

17 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


"A  few  of  these  pipes  are  noted  in  order  to 
give  an  idea  of  their  character:  A  4}/2  inch 
cast  iron  pipe  on  Chestnut  Street,  from  Broad 
to  15th  Street,  laid  in  1817,  was  removed  only 
recently.  A  22  inch  cast  iron  main  leads  from 
Fairmount  Basin  to  Green  Street,  to  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  to  Callowhill  Street.  It 
then  reduces  to  two  20  inch  mains  leading  to 
Broad  Street  and  thence  to  Chestnut  Street. 
This  pipe  was  laid  in  1819,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  portion  which  was  removed  in  1897  on 
account  of  the  construction  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue  Subway,  is  still  in  use. 

"Mains  on  Market  Street,  from  Juniper  to 
Broad  Streets,  laid  about  1820,  from  llth 
Street  to  Juniper  Street,  laid  in  1823,  and  from 
Water  Street  to  llth  Street,  laid  in  1822,  were 
in  good  condition  when  removed  in  1907  to 
make  way  for  the  Market  Street  Subway. 
Mains  6  and  10  inches  in  diameter,  on  Second 
Street,  between  Greenwich  Street  and  Lehigh 
Avenue,  were  laid  between  1823  and  1852; 
8  inch  mains  on  Front  Street,  between 
Wharton  Street  and  Laurel  Street,  were  laid 
at  various  dates  between  1822  and  1834;  one 
10  inch  main  on  Chestnut  Street,  from  Front 
Street  to  Broad  Street,  was  laid  in  1821  and 
1823;  and  a  20  inch  main  on  15th  Street, 
from  Callowhill  Street  to  Chestnut  Street, 

18 


HISTORICAL 


was  laid  in   1829.     All  these  mains   are  still 
in  use. 

"This  list  might  be  extended  to  several 
pages,  but  it  serves  to  show  that  a  century's 
use  has  not  rendered  these  pipes  unfit  for 
service.  Virtually  the  whole  of  the  old  dis- 
tribution system  laid  at  that  time  has  given 
an  equally  good  account  of  itself." 

In  New  York  bored  logs  were  used  in  all  the 
early  water  distributing  systems,  including 
that  of  the  Manhattan  Company,  organized 
in  1799  by  Aaron  Burr,  the  following  very  in- 
teresting 
history  of 
which  is 
contained 
inahand- 

,  Old  Bored  Logs  from  Early  New  York  Water  Supply  System 

some  bro- 
chure issued  in  1914  by  the  Bank  of  the  Man- 
hattan Company,  now  one  of  the  strongest 
financial  institutions  in  the  City: 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
New  York  was  by  no  means  so  healthy  a  place 
as  it  is  today,  for  it  was  frequently  swept 
during  the  hot  season  by  epidemics  of  yellow 
fever.  One  of  the  most  severe  of  these,  which 
occurred  in  1798,  and  was  attributed  to  the 
inadequate  and  inferior  water  supply,  led  a 
number  of  public-spirited  gentlemen,  among 

19 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


whom  were  John  B.  Church  and  Daniel 
Ludlow,  wealthy  merchants,  to  apply  to  the 
legislature  for  a  charter  for  a  company  that 
would  supply  New  York  with  pure  wrater. 

"Two  of  the  most  active  spirits  in  the  move- 
ment were  Aaron  Burr  and  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton, who  at  this  time  were  not  by  any  means 
the  bitter  rivals  they  were  three  years  later. 
And  the  two,  together,  on  February  25th, 
1799,  called  upon  the  mayor  in  advocacy  of 
the  movement,  and  were  directed  by  the 
Common  Council  to  put  in  writing  their 
request  for  the  granting  of  the  charter  to  the 
Manhattan  Company.  It  does  not  appear 
what  further  interest  Alexander  Hamilton  had 
in  the  movement,  but  the  company  was  formed 
with  a  capital  of  two  millions,  and  it  wras 
given  the  name  of  the  Manhattan  Company. 
"A  clause  was  inserted  in  the  charter  per- 
mitting the  company  'to  employ  all  surplus 
capital  in  the  purchase  of  public  or  other  stock 
or  in  any  other  moneyed  transactions  or 
operations  not  inconsistent  with  the  Consti- 
tution and  laws  of  New  York  or  of  the  United 
States.' 

'There  was  some  opposition  to  the  pro- 
visions of  this  charter  which  granted  the 
company  banking  privileges,  as  the  Bank  of 
New  York,  organized  by  Alexander  Hamilton 

20 


HISTORICAL 


in  1784,  had  received  a  charter  in  1792.  The 
Bank  of  New  York  and  the  New  York  Branch 
of  the  First  Bank  of  the  United  States  were 
then  the  only  banks  doing  business  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  As  this  monopoly  of 
banking  facilities  was  of  great  value  to  the 
Federal  Party  which,  under  the  leadership  of 
Hamilton  was  then  in  control,  much  jealousy 
arose  among  the  leaders  of  the  opposition, 
under  Aaron  Burr.  So  that,  however  willing 
Hamilton  may  have  been  to  grant  the  charter 
to  the  water  company,  there  was  much  opposi- 
tion to  the  granting  of  a  charter  which  would 
open  the  doors  to  a  banking  business. 

"The  need  of  a  proper  water  supply  was, 
however,  too  strong  to  be  denied,  particularly 
as  it  could  be  carried  through  by  a  responsible 
company  with  large  capital.  And  it  passed  the 
legislature  on  April  2,  1799,  and  soon  received 
the  governor's  signature. 

"The  books  were  opened  for  public  sub- 
scription to  the  $2,000,000  capital  stock  of  the 
Manhattan  Company,  the  par  value  of  which 
was  $50.  Among  the  subscribers  to  the  stock 
Daniel  Ludlow,  John  Watts,  John  B.  Church, 
Brockholst  Livingston,  William  Laight,  Pascal 
N.  Smith,  Samuel  Osgood,  John  Stevens,  John 
B.  Coles,  John  Broome  and  Aaron  Burr,  many 
of  the  best-known  merchants  of  the  time. 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


"The  entire  amount  was  subscribed  to  by 
May  15th,  New  York  City  taking  2,000  of  the 
shares,  and  the  charter  provided  that  the 
Recorder  of  the  city  should  be  ex  officio  a 
director  of  the  company — a  provision  which 
was  in  effect  for  one  hundred  and  eight  years, 
until  the  abolition  of  the  office  in  1907. 

"The  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors 
was  held  at  the  house  of  Edward  Barden,  inn- 
keeper, April  11,  1799.  All  the  directors, 
including  Richard  Harrison,  Recorder  of  the 
City  of  New  York 
were  present,  except 
William  Edgar.  Daniel 
Ludlow  was  chosen 
president,  and  Samuel 
Osgood,  John  B.  Coles 

and  John  SteVenS  Were        Taking  Down  Old  Cast  Iron  Tank 

in    1914 — After    More   Than    100 

appointed  a  committee       Years  service 

to  report  the  best  means  to  obtain   a   water 

supply. 

"It  was  decided  to  dig  a  number  of  wells  in 
various  parts  of  the  city,  and  particularly  a 
large  well,  thirty -five  feet  deep,  between  Reade 
and  Chambers  Streets,  a  few  feet  from  Collect 
Pond.  Over  this  early  well,  a  tank  of  iron  was 
erected,  which  is  now  enclosed  in  an  old- 
fashioned  building,  and  is  still  owned  by  the 
Bank  of  the  Manhattan  Company.  The  water 


HISTORICAL 


was  piped  to  the  lower  part  of  the  city  in 
pine  logs,  and  the  distributing  system  was 
gradually  extended  throughout  the  city  south 
of  City  Hall. 

"In  1836  the  water  system  was  extended 
north,  along  Broadway,  as  far  as  Bleecker 
Street.  At  that  time  the  company  had  about 
25  miles  of  mains  and  supplied  2,000  houses. 
The  water,  while  wholesome,  was  not  very 
clear,  and  did  not  give  entire  satisfaction,  but 
the  company  continued  to  operate  its  water 
service  until  the  completion  of  the  Croton 
system  in  1842." 

The  dissatisfaction  and  complaints  con- 
cerning the  quality  of  water  furnished  by  the 
Manhattan  Company,  which  had  for  some 
years  been  growing  in  intensity  and  volume, 
had  their  culmination  in  1834,  in  the  granting 
to  the  city  by  the  state  legislature  of  a  charter 
permitting  the  use  of  water  from  the  Croton 
River,  which  drains  a  large  area  in  Putnam 
and  Westchester  Counties,  and  flows  into  the 
Hudson  about  32  miles  north  of  New  York  City. 

Because  of  the  immensity  of  the  latest  New 
York  water  supply  system,  now  nearing  com- 
pletion, and  which  is,  without  question,  the 
greatest  engineering  feat  of  its  kind  in  modern 
history,  a  brief  review  of  its  development  will 
undoubtedly  prove  interesting. 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


505 IQMi 


HISTORICAL 


Beginning  in  1834  a  fifty  foot  dam  was  built 
on  the  Croton  River  some  forty  miles  above 
the  city  and  the  water  from  this  river,  known 
familiarly  to  New  Yorkers  since  that  time  as 
"  Croton  water,"  was  brought  down  by  gravity 
through  an  aqueduct  largely  of  the  "cut  and 
cover"  type,  crossing  the  Harlem  River 
through  cast  iron  pipe  carried  by  the  pictur- 
esque stone-arched  "High  Bridge,"  thence 


New  Croton  Dam — New  York  Water  Supply 

connection  was  made  with  the  city  distributing 
mains.  This  system,  now  known  as  the  "Old 
Croton  Aqueduct,"  which  was  planned  to 
supply  36,000,000  gallons  daily,  was  put  into 
service  in  1842;  but  by  1880  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  city  had  placed  a  burden  of  95,000,000 
gallons  per  day  on  it,  and 'an  increased  supply 
became  imperative.  There  was  secured  be- 
tween 1880  and  1884  an  additional  23,000,000 
gallons  from  the  Bronx  and  Byram  Rivers 
two  smaller  streams  nearer  the  city,  and  in 


PIPE  AND   THE   PUBLIC  WELFARE 


1884  was  begun  the  second  Croton  aqueduct, 
completed  in  1891. 

The  New  Croton  Dam,  located  about  three 
miles  below  the  first  one,  was,  for  some  years 
after  its  completion,  the  largest  and  highest 
reservoir  dam  in  the  world,  impounding  some 
36  billion  gallons  of  water.  The  aqueduct 
from  this  dam  is  thirty-three  miles  long,  con- 
structed almost  wholly  through  deep  rock 
tunnels,  crossing  the  Harlem  River  by  means 
of  a  siphon  tunnel  1,300  feet  long  and  about 
300  feet  below  tide  level,  and  has  a  delivery 
capacity  of  300,000,000  gallons  per  day. 
From  the  termination  of  this  aqueduct  at 
the  135th  Street  Gate  House,  cast  iron  pipe 
lines  distribute  the  water  to  and  throughout 
the  city,  one  set  comprising  8  lines  of  48  inch 
laid  in  one  trench. 

Several  years  after  this  system  was  put  into 
operation  the  total  storage  capacity  of  the 
district  w^as  increased  to  105  billion  gallons  by 
connection  of  the  chain  of  small  lakes  in  the 
Croton  Watershed,  to  retain  the  excess  water 
of  the  flood  periods,  and  feed  the  river  in  times 
of  drought. 

Scarcely  ten  years  had  passed,  however, 
until  the  daily  water  consumption  of  Man- 
hattan and  the  Bronx  exceeded  the  300,000,- 
000  mark,  and  again  the  city  faced  the 

26 


HISTORICAL 


problem  of  securing  a  new  and  much  greater 
supply. 

Permission  was  obtained  from  the  state  in 
1905  for  the  construction  of  the  Catskill 
Aqueduct,  to  utilize  the  water  from  Esopus 
Creek,  in  Ulster  County,  and  work  was  at 
once  begun  on  the  immense  and  now  famous 

"  AshokanDam' ' 
which,  together 
with  two  earth- 
en and  rubble 
dikes,  has  an 
estimated  and 
impounding  ca- 
pacity of  130 
billion  gallons — 

Ashokan  Dam  in  Course  of  Construction  , 

enough  to  sub- 
merge Manhattan  Island  to  a  depth  of  28 
feet." 

This  water  will  be  conveyed  from  Esopus 
Creek  at  the  rate  of  500,000,000  gallons  daily 
through  a  reinforced  concrete  aqueduct  about 
92  miles  in  length,  over  a  rough  and  rather 
mountainous  country,  crossing  several  val- 
leys by  means  of  pressure  tunnel  siphons, 
and  passing  under  the  Hudson  River  at 
"Storm  King"  Mountain,  through  an  in- 
verted siphon  cut  for  a  distance  of  3,000  feet 
through  solid  rock,  at  a  depth  of  about  1,000 

£7 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


feet  below  the  river  bed,  to  the  Kensico  Reser- 
voir, the  largest  of  its  type  in  the  world,  at 
Valhalla,  about  12  miles  north  of  the  city 
line,  thence  to  an  equalizing  reservoir  at  Hill 
View,  on  the  northern  border  of  the  city. 
From  here  it  is  distributed  to  the  various 
boroughs  of  Greater  New  York  by  deep  press- 
ure tunnels,  reaching  Staten  Island  through  a 


Kensico  Dam  As  It  Will  Appear  When  Completed 

line  of  36-inch  cast  iron  flexible  joint  pipe  laid 
under  water  at  the  "Narrows,"  the  entrance 
to  New  York  Harbor. 

The  Boroughs  of  Brooklyn  and  Queens  have 
already  a  daily  supply  of  about  185,000,000 
gallons,  developed  from  wells  and  surface 
streams  which,  added  to  the  Croton  and 
Catskill  supplies,  the  latter  of  which  is  ex- 
pected to  be  available  in  1916,  will  give  the 
Greater  City  a  total  of  over  a  billion  gallons 

28 


HISTORICAL 


daily,  with  a  storage  capacity  of  nearly  300 
billion  gallons. 

It  may  be  stated  in  passing  that  nothing 
but  cast  iron  pipe  is 
used  for  the  distribu- 
tion    of     this     water 
throughout  the  entire 
city,  both  for  domes- 
tic   and    fire    service, 
with   pressures   vary- 
ing  from    25    to    300        Te8t  of 
pounds,      the      total 

length  of  such  pipe  aggregating,  in  1915,  some 
3,015  miles. 

While  practically  all  of  the  large  cities  in 
the  United  States  are  supplied  with  water 
through  cast  iron  pipe  conduits,  a  system 
worthy  of  further  particular  mention  is  that 
of  the  Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage 
Board  of  Massachusetts,  which  includes  the 
well  known  Wachusett  Reservoir  covering 
4177  acres,  and  which  with  Lake  Cochituate 
and  eight  other  reservoirs  on  the  Sudbury 
River,  is  capable  of  supplying  173  million 
gallons  per  day,  to  the  City  of  Boston  and 
environs. 

Distribution  from  the  aqueducts  to  the 
several  municipalities  comprising  the  Metro- 
politan District  is  effected  by  means  of  about 

29 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


116  miles  of  cast  iron  pipe,  a  large  portion  of 
which  is  48"  and  60"  in  diameter.  In  the  dis- 
tribution systems  of 
the  various  cities  there 
are  in  addition  about 
1779  miles  of  cast  iron 


Three  Lines  60-Inch  Cast  Iron  Pipe 

Being  Laid  Under  Charles  River, 

Boston 


pipe    in    sizes    ranging 
from  4"  to  48". 

As  has  already  been 
mentioned,  cast  iron 
pipe  early  became  an 
important  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
water  supply  of  Philadelphia.  In  the  present 
system  the  water  from  Torresdale  Filter  Beds 
to  the  Lardner's  Point  Pumping  Station  is 
conveyed  by  means  of  a  masonry  conduit  or 
tunnel;  from  this  station  60"  cast  iron  bell 
and  spigot  pipe  form  the  force  mains  to  Frank- 
ford  Creek,  where  the  water  is  delivered  to 
the  distribution  system  working  against  the 
48"  relief  line  to  the  Oak  Lane  Reservoir. 

A  subsequent  report  by  a  board  of  expert 
engineers  suggests  that  the  use  of  60"  cast 
iron  pipe  instead  of  masonry  conduit  would 
have  been  cheaper  and  preferable.  Four 
lines' of  60"  cast  iron  pipe  lead  from  Lardner's 
Point  Station,  and  were  laid  after  two  cast 
iron  lines  48"  and  30"  diameters  had  been 
moved  to  one  side  while  under  water  pres- 

30 


HISTORICAL 


sure — a  severe  test  of  the  bell  and  spigot  joint 
both  as  to  flexibility  and  tightness. 

Altogether  the  total  mileage  of  cast  iron 
water  mains  in  Philadelphia  at  the  close  of 
1915  was  about  1800  miles,  in  sizes  ranging 
from  3"  to  60"  diameter. 

Gas  Pipe 

The  development  of  the  illuminating  gas 
industry  in  this  country  was  practically  co- 
incident with  that  of  municipal  water  supply 
systems,  and  the  earliest  record  of  the  use  of 
cast  iron  pipe  for  gas  distributing  mains 
indicates  that  they  were  installed  probably 
first  in  Baltimore  between  1820  and  1835. 
Some  of  this  pipe  has  recently  been  taken  up 
and  examined  and  found  to  be  in  practically 
perfect  condition.  An  article  in  the  March  8, 
1916,  issue  of  "The  Gas  Record"  contains  the 
following  interesting  comment  on  this  pipe: 

* 'HISTORICAL  SECTION  OF  CAST  IROX  PIPE" 

"A  section  of  cast  iron  pipe  unearthed  just 
outside  the  David  St. 
building  during  recent 
alterations  was  found 
to  be  in  excellent  con- 
dition and  is  shown 

-,  .  i  f-^  .  Cast  Iron  Gas  Pipe  83  Years  in  Service 

herewith.      Concerning  in  Baltimore,  M<L 

31 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


this  pipe,  George  Beadenkopf,  chief  engineer 
of  the  Baltimore  Consolidated  Gas,  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company,  says: 

'The  pipe,  when  taken  up,  was  in  first 
class  condition.  There  were  absolutely  no 
signs  of  deterioration,  inside  or  outside.  The 
inside  of  the  pipe  had  a  hard,  smooth,  thin 
coating  of  tar,  which  was  likely  deposited  in 
the  pipe  at  the  time  the  plant  was  in  opera- 
tion, some  sixty  years  ago. 

c  The  fracture  of  the  iron  shows  it  to  be  good 
metal.  My  belief  is  that  the  pipe  has  been  in 
the  ground  eighty  years  or  more,  and  I  think 
it  is  a  fine  example  of  the  lasting  qualities  of 
cast  iron  pipe.  I  am  unable  to  say  who  made 
the  pipe,  but  believe  from  what  I  have  heard 
from  older  men  who  were  connected  with  the 
gas  industry  in  Baltimore,  that  the  pipe  was 
imported  from  England  as  were  also  other- 
parts  of  the  gas  plants  first  erected  in  Balti- 


more.5 


The  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
began  the  use  of  cast  iron  pipe  for  gas  mains 
as  early  as  1840.  Much,  if  not  all,  of  this  pipe 
is  still  in  service. 

The  high  development  of  the  manufactured 
gas  industry  in  New  York  is  indicated  by  the 
following  interesting  account  of  the  opening 
of  the  Astoria  Light,  Heat  &  Power  Company's 

32 


HISTORICAL 


plant  on  Long  Island,  as  given  by  the  New 
York  Times  of  October  28,  1915: 


"ASTORIA  GAS  TUBES  WORLD'S  GREATEST" 

:<  Twenty-two  million  cubic  feet  of  gas  is 
now  being  drawn  every 
day  beneath  the  East 
River  through  the  larg- 
est  cast   iron   pipe    at 
present   in  use  in  the 
world.     It  is  expected 
that  by  the  end  of  this 
week  its   mate,   which         Model  of  Astoria  Gas  Tunnel 
lies  alongside  it  in  the  Astoria  Gas  Tunnel, 
will  be  ready. 

'These  gigantic  tubes  are  six  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  they  extend  for  4,700  feet  from 
Astoria  to  132d  Street,  the  Bronx.  Part  of 
the  gas  goes  to  mains  in  the  Bronx  and  part 
may  be  diverted  to  pipes  in  Manhattan. 

;<  These  mains  represent  a  notable  feat  of 
gas  engineering.  Many  years  ago  it  was 
recognized  that  gas  plants  could  not  always 
be  operated  in  Manhattan  and  several  new 
ones  were  built  on  Long  Island.  The  first 
mains  laid  on  the  river  bottom  were  10  and  12 
inches  in  diameter.  The  building  of  the 
million-dollar  plant  of  the  Astoria  Light,  Heat 

33 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


&  Power  Company  on  Long  Island  with  its 
great  holder  necessitated  the  boring  of  the 
tunnel  under  the  river  to  carry  the  gas  to 
consumers  in  the  city.  To  accommodate  the 
big  pipes  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  tunnel  of 
an  average  diameter  of  eighteen  feet,  and 
twenty-six  feet  in  the  clear  at  the  western  end. 
The  Astoria  shaft  was  sunk  in  1910  and  the 
Bronx  shaft  at  Port  Morris,  at  the  foot  of 
132d  Street,  was  put  down  a  year  later. 

"The  digging  of  this  tunnel  under  the 
supervision  of  William  H.  Bradley,  Chief 
Engineer  of  The  Consolidated  Gas  Company, 
of  which  the  Astoria  plant  is  a  subsidiary,  was 
accompanied  by  many  difficulties.  There  was 
much  decomposed  rock,  and  through  fissures 
considerable  quantities  of  water  were  ad- 
mitted into  the  tunnel.  There  were  at  one 
place  three  large  water  flows  at  various  times. 
One  of  them  had  an  average  flow  of  one 
thousand  gallons  a  minute.  The  ingenious 
use  of  cement  in  a  grouting  process  stopped  the 
flow,  and  the  entire  tunnel  wras  lined  with 
segments  of  steel.  The  mains  were  then 
carried  through  the  tunnel  side  by  side  and 
were  surrounded  by  decking.  Over  them  is 
a  runway  which  may  be  used  for  any  further 
utilities. 

"The  Engineer-in-Chief  said  yesterday  that 
34 


HISTORICAL 


Cast  Iron  Pipe — 72-Inches  Diameter 


the  iron  pipes 
were  unques- 
tionably the 
largest  ever 
made.  They  are 
72  inches  in  the 
clear  and  their 
metal  walls  are 
2  J4  inches  thick.  They  have  hub  and  spigot 
joints  and  were  cast  in  standard  twelve-foot 
lengths.  The  weight  of  each  length  is  thirteen 
tons  and  the  displacement  of  water  for  each 
is  24,800  pounds,  from  which  it  is  seen  that 
even  if  the  tunnel  should  fill  with  water  the 
pipes  would  retain  their  position  secure.  Each 
twelve-foot  section  is  supported  by  two  con- 
crete blocks.  The  laying  of  the  mains,  the 
caulking  of  the  joints  and  many  other  pro- 
cesses required  special  devices  owing  to  the 
great  size  of  the  sections.  The  mains  are  now 
connected  with  a  net-work  of  pipes  under  the 
city  streets.  Owing  to  their  size  the  gas  is 
drawn  through  them  with  pumps." 

W.  R.  Addicks,  Vice -President,  Consoli- 
dated Gas  Company,  New  York  City,  in  a 
paper  read  before  the  New  York  Section 
Ilium  mating  Engineering  Society,  Nov.  9, 1910, 
on  "Some  Notes  on  Gas  Standards,"  says: 

35 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


:<  There  have  appeared  from  time  to  time 
epoch  making  influences  in  the  history  of  the 
gas  industry  since  1792,  when  Murdock  in- 
troduced gas  for  lighting.  Some  have  been 
apparent  at  the  time  while  others  are  appre- 
ciated only  after  a  lapse  of  years  during 
which  their  influence  has  been  at  work. 

"The  introduction  of  cast  iron  pipe  about 
1808  for  distribution  purposes  greatly  aided 
in  making  the  gas  industry  permanently 
successful.  Cast  iron  mains  seldom  require 
renewal  except  because  of  obsolescence  due 
to  existing  mains  being  too  small  for  the 
demands  of  modern  industry." 

At  the  close  of  1915  there  was  in  use  in  the 
five  Boroughs  of  Greater  New  York  over 
3600  miles  of  cast  iron  gas  mains  which, 
together  with  the  water  mains  already  men- 
tioned, made  a  total  of  6,646  miles. 

The  City  of  Boston  has  nearly  1100  miles 
of  gas  mains,  Philadelphia  has  over  1500  miles, 
making  considerably  over  3000  miles  of  cast 
iron  pipe  in  use  in  each  of  these  cities. 


CHAPTER  II 


MATERIALS  AND  METHODS  OF 
MAKING  METAL  PIPE 


CHAPTER   II 


MATERIALS    AND    METHODS    OF    MAKING    METAL 

PIPE 

IRON,  in  its  crude  form  (ore),  is  widely  and 
abundantly  distributed  throughout  the 
world,  but  its  availability  for  manufacturing 
purposes 
depends 
largely 
on  the 
proximity 
of  good 
and  cheap 
fuel.  Not 
the  least 
of  the 
value  of 

iron  is  its  cheapness—even  with  the  primi- 
tive smelting  apparatus  the  cost  of  a  pound 
of  iron  was  probably  not  more  than  a  fifth  of 
the  cost  of  a  pound  of  the  earlier  used  bronze. 
It  was  formerly  thought  that,  aside  from 
meteoric  iron,  it  did  not  occur  native — that 
is,  in  the  same  form  as  produced  by  smelting, 
—but  it  has  lately  been  found  in  large  quan- 

39 


Primitive  Furna 


Courtesy  "The  Valve  World" 
>r  Smelting  Iron  (From  "Iron  and  Steel' 
Magazine,  Vol.  10) 


AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFA&E 


titles  in  the  basaltic  lava  of  Greenland.  This, 
however,  is  not  chemically  pure,  nor  is  any 
iron  manufactured  from  the  ore  in  the  large 
way  free  from  impurities ;  and  the  substances 
thus  present  such  as  graphite,  or  carbon, 
silicon,  sulphur,  phosphorous  and  manganese, 
are  of  great  importance  in  reference  to  the 
character  of  the  metal  produced. 

More  than  any  other  metal,  iron  (and  its 
modified  form  known  as  steel),  affords  the 
combination  of  qualities  needed  in  the  develop- 
ment and  application  of  energy,  and  in  recent 
years  it  has  come  to  occupy  a  position  of 
cardinal  importance  in  the  construction  of 
vessels  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  and 
transporting  substances,  especially  liquids. 

Iron  is  at  once  hard,  rigid,  flexible  and 
tough  and  has  these  characteristics  through  a 
considerable  range  of  variations,  which  may 
readily  be  induced  by  manipulation  either 
chemically  or  mechanically. 

There  are  three  forms  in  which  iron  is  put 
upon  the  market,  which  differ  essentially  in 
their  properties : 

First  — Cast  Iron,  which  is  hard,  comparatively  brittle,  readily 
fusible,  and  cannot  be  forged  or  welded. 

Second — Wrought  Iron,  which  is  comparatively  soft,  malleable 
(capable  of  being  shaped  or  extended  by  beating  or 
rolling),  ductile,  weldable  and  fusible  at  a  very  high 
temperature. 

40 


MATERIALS    AND     METHODS 


Third  — Steel,  which  is  also  malleable  and  weldable,  but  fusible, 
and — what  is  of  great  importance — capable  of  being 
tempered  to  a  very  high  degree  of  hardness,  so  that  it 
cuts  cast  iron  and  wrought  iron  with  ease. 

Each  of  these  forms  will  be  treated  sep- 
arately and  in  the  order  given,  so  far  as  they 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  pipe. 

Cast  Iron 

The  product  of  the 
blast  furnace,  out  of 
which  all  forms  of  iron 
and  steel  are  now  made, 
is  called  pig-iron,  and 

'  m  A  Modern  Blast  Furnace 

the  name   cast-iron   is 

ordinarily  given  to  pig-iron  which  has  been 
re-melted  in  an  air  furnace,  or  cupola,  and 
cast  into  any  desired  shape,  by  which  process 
its  qualities  are  not  sensibly  changed. 

When  cast  into  properly  shaped  moulds, 
the  result  is  cast  iron  pipe,  but  much  more  is 
involved  in  this  process  than  is  indicated  by 
this  simple  statement. 

So  far  as  is  known  the  first  cast  iron  pipe 
was  moulded  in  wooden  frames,  or  flasks, 
packed  with  sand  sufficiently  moist  to  retain 
its  shape,  and  the  pipe  was  cast  in  a  horizontal 
position  or  "on  the  side."  Indeed,  this 
method  still  obtains  for  casting  short  lengths 
of  pipe,  but  as  the  standard  of  length  in- 

41 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


17th  Century  Pipe  Foundry  in  France 


creased  from  about  3  ft.  to  6  ft.,  then  to  9  ft. 
and  later  to   12  ft.,  the  position  of  casting 

the  moulds 
changed  from 
horizontal  to  a 
slope, and  finally 
to  the  present 
vertical  posi- 
tion. These 
changes  were 
made  in  order 
to  secure  a  more 

uniform  thickness  of  wall  and  better  distrib- 
ution of  metal,  as  well  as  to  insure  cleaner  and 
stronger  castings  by  bringing  all  dirt,  or  scoria 
(which  rises  and  floats  on  the  heavier  metal) 
to  the 
top  of  the 
mould, 
into  a 
large  run- 
ner which 
is  broken 
or  cut  off. 


Early  19th  Century  Pipe  Foundry 


The  most  important  feature  of  the  modern 
pipe  foundry  consists  of  one  or  more  large 
pits,  either  circular  or  rectangular  in  shape, 
and  about  12  feet  deep,  filled  with  iron  flasks 
accurately  machined  and  fitted  for  the  various 

42 


MATERIALS    AND     METHODS 


14S 


Modern  Pipe  Foundry 


sizes  of  pipe.  These  flasks  are  made  in  two 
pieces,  loosely  hinged  together  on  one  side 
and  with  flanges 
for  clamping  the 
halves  together 
when  closed. 
The  inside  diam- 
eter of  the  iron 
flasks  is  several 
inches  larger 
than  the  out- 
side of  the  pipe 
pattern,  which  is 
also  of  iron,  accurately  turned  and  polished. 
This  pattern  has  a  tapered  bottom  end,  which 

rests  in  a  correspond- 
ingly tapered  seat  in 
the  center  of  the 
"ramming  stool"  on 
which  the  flask  is 
placed  for  moulding. 
And  being  thus  cen- 
tered, the  space  be- 
tween the  pattern  and 
the  flask  is  filled  with 
sand  and  thoroughly 
"rammed." 

This  ramming  is 
done  in  various  ways, 


Ramming  Moulds 


43 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


either  with  blunt  end  rods,  hand  or  mechan- 
ically operated,  or  by  compression  by  means 
of  a  specially  shaped  pattern,  or  by  jarring 
the  flask  after  it  has  been  filled  with  sand. 

When  the  sand  has  been  thoroughly  rammed 
in  the  flask,  the  pattern  is  withdrawn  and  the 
mould  washed  on  the  inside  with  a  liquid 
" facing"  preparation  which  prevents  the  sand 
from  burning  and  adhering  to  the  pipe  when 

cast.  The 
mould  is 
then  placed 
over  a  n 
oven, 
heated 
with  either 
coke  or 
gas,  where 
it  is  dried, 
or  baked, 

and  from  whence  it  takes  the  name  of  "dry 
sand  mould." 

While  the  moulds  are  being  rammed  and 
dried  other  workmen  are  preparing  the  cores 
necessary  for  making  the  bore  of  the  pipe. 
This  core  is  made  on  a  hollow  mandrel,  or 
"bar,"  perforated  throughout  its  entire  length 
(about  13  ft.),  the  holes  being  K  to  M  inch 
diameter.  The  bar  has  accurately  turned 

44 


Making  Cores 


MATERIALS     AND     METHODS 


Cores  in  Drying  Oven 


spindles  in  each  end,  which  rest  in  horizontal 
bearings  in  which  the  bar  is  placed  parallel 
with  a  metal-edged 
board,  or  "strike,"  the 
edge  of  this  strike  fixing 
the  diameter  of  the  core. 

While  being  revolved 
in  the  bearings  at  mod- 
erate speed  a  covering 
of  combustible  mate- 
rial is  first  placed  on 
the  bar,  either  in  the 
form  of  rope  made  of 
hay  or  excelsior,  or  of 
paper  in  the  form  of 
pulp,  and  this  is  followed  by  roughing  coat  of 
loam  of  the  consistency  of  a  stiff  mortar,  gauged 
as  to  thickness  by  the  metal  edged  strike. 
These  cores  are  placed  on  metal  cars  and  run 
into  large  ovens  where  this  first  coat  is 
thoroughly  dried,  then  they  are  covered  by  a 
finishing  coat  of  loam  and  finally  by  a  coating 
of  liquid  facing,  and  again  placed  in  the 
drying  ovens. 

When  both  moulds  and  cores  are  dry,  the 
cores,  having  tapered  bottom  ends,  are  set 
in  the  moulds  resting  on  "casting  stools" 
with  a  corresponding  taper  which  centers  the 
core  at  the  bottom.  The  head  core,  or  runner 

45 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


Setting  Cores 


core,  with  holes,  or  "gates," 
for  the  metal,  wrhich  is 
made  separately  from  the 
main  core,  is  then  placed 
in  the  top  of  the  mould, 
thus  centering  the  main,  or 
body,  core  at  the  top.  A 
deep  runner,  or  reservoir, 
is  made  on  top  of  the  mould, 
which  is  then  ready  for  cast- 
ing. 

In  the  casting  of  pipe 
care  is  taken  to  fill  the  run- 
ner or  reservoir,  at  the  first  tilt  of  the  ladle 
and  keep  it  full  until  the  mould  is  entirely 
filled,  thus  providing 
a  large  body  of  metal 
at  the  top  of  the 
mould  in  which  all 
foreign  matter,  of 
lighter  weight  than 
the  metal  itself,  will 
remain,  thus  mini- 
mizing the  danger  of 
defects  in  the  cast- 
ing. 

Within  a  few  sec- 
onds after  the  metal 
begins  to  enter  a  pipe 

46 


Drawing  Metal  From  Cupola 


MATERIALS    AND     METHODS 


Pouring  Pipe 


mould,  the  gases  generated  by  contact  with 
the  sand  shoot  out  from  the  small  holes  in 
the  flask 
in  the 
form  of 
a  blue 
flame, 
and  this 
is  quickly 
followed 
by  a  dense 
smoke 
from  the 

top  of  the  core  bar,  conducted  into  its  center 
by  the  perforations  in  the  bar  \vhich,  on  be- 
ing touched  off  with  a  torch,  burns  with  a 
heavy  flame  until  the  combustible  material 
on  the  bar  is  entirely  consumed.  By  this 

time  the  metal 
in  the  pipe  is 
4 'set"  and  the 
bar  can  be 
drawn  out  and 
used  again  for 
the  next  cast. 

The  pipe  is  al- 
lowed to  remain 
in  the  mould  until  sufficiently  cool  not  to  show 
the  color  of  heat,  when  the  flask  is  lifted  out 

47 


Shaking  Out  Pipe 


PIPE   AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


Cleaning  Pipe 


of    the  pit  and   opened    on   the   "shake-out 

skids,"  the  hot  sand  dropping  into  a  "tem- 
pering pit  "  beneath,  and 
the  pipe  starting  on  its 
journey  through  the 
cleaning  shed. 

In  the  cleaning  of  cast 
iron  pipe,  which  is  done 
almost  entirely  by  hand, 
an  inspector  keeps  a 
watchful  eye  on  every 
operation,  and  such  de- 
fective pipes  as  are 
found  are  almost  invari- 
ably discovered  and 

marked  for  rejection  before  they  reach  the 

testing  press.   When  cleaned  of  all  loose  sand 

both  inside  and  out,  the  baked  loam  material 

of  the  core  left 

on  the  inside  of 

the  pipe  by  the 

withdrawal  of 

the  bar  having 

to    be    cut  and 

scraped  outwith 

special     tools 

made    for    that 

purpose,  the  pipe  intended  for  water  service, 

which  is  always  coated,  is  rolled  into  an  oven 

48 


Dipping  or  Coating  Pip 


MATERIALS    AND    METHODS 


where  it  is  heated  to  about  300  degrees  Fah- 
renheit and  is  at  that  temperature  dipped  into 
a  bath  of  coal  tar. 

After  being  drained  of  all  surplus  tar  each 
pipe  is  tested  to  300  Ibs.  hydrostatic  pressure 
and  carefully  hammered  under  pressure  to 
disclose  any  hidden  defects.  Pipes  for  special 
high  pressure  purposes  are  tested  as  high  as 
750  Ibs. 
From  the 
testing 
press  the 
pipe  goes 
to  the 
s  c  a  1  e  s 
where  the 
weight 
of  each  Testing  Pipe 

length  is  plainly  marked  on  it  in  white  paint 
and  it  is  then  taken  to  the  stock  yard  and 
piled  according  to  its  weight  classification. 

Even  from  this  brief  description  of  the 
manufacture  of  cast  iron  pipe  one  must  neces- 
sarily be  impressed  by  the  amount  of  labor, 
and  the  importance  of  the  "personal  equa- 
tion" involved  in  its  production — which  is 
probably  unequalled  in  any  other  large  in- 
dustry in  these  days  of  modern  mechanical 
and  labor-saving  devices. 

49 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


In  this  connection  the  following  statement 
by  a  superintendent  of  the  Water  Dept.  of  a 
large  steel  company,  in  the  course  of  a  dis- 
cussion of  cast  iron  pipe  standards  during  one 
of  the  sessions  of  the  American  Water  Works 
Association  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
in  May,  1915,  is  of  interest: 

"I  am  not  a  pipe  manufacturer.  ...  I 
believe  we  will  save  more 
money  by  letting  the 
pipe  manufacturers  work 
that  (a  suggested  change 
in  standard)  out  for  us 
than  we  would  by  at- 
tempting to  dictate  an 
arbitrary  standard. 

4  The  pipe  people  keep 
a  large  laboratory  and 
they  study  their  manu- 
factured product  day  in 
and  day  out.  .  .  .  They  live  writh  the  pipe, 
they  know  it,  they  are  making  the  pipe  and 
they  know  howr  to  make  it.  They  pile  up  all 
of  their  pig-iron  in  different  piles  and  each 
pile  is  numbered.  A  detailed  analysis  of  each 
pile  is  carried  and  they  can  tell  you,  if  you 
give  them  the  number  cast  on  a  pipe  in  the 
large  size,  what  mine  that  ore  came  out  of, 
the  day  it  reached  their  yard,  how  they  made 

50 


Laboratory  Test  of  Pig  Iron  Mixture 


MATERIALS    AND     METHODS 


up  that  mixture  and  the  test  both  for  tensile 
and  cross-breaking  strain. 

"They  are  anxious  for  any  man  who  buys  a 
foot  of  pipe  to  give 
them  the  history  of  any 
failure  there  is,  and  I 
have  known  of  instances 
where  they  spent  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  fol- 
lowing up  a  small  break 
simply  because  there 
was  something  in  there 
that  to  the  minds  of 
these  pipe  manufac- 
turers indicated  that 
something  had  got  by 
them  in  the  manufacture  of  that  pipe.  .  .  . 
It  is  wonderful  how  they  make  this  pipe,  the 
care,  thought  and  endeavor  that  they  put 
into  its  manufacture." 

Wrought  Iron 

The  term  wrought-iron,  in  its  broad  de- 
finition, viz. :  "  Iron  that  is  or  may  be  wrought 
into  form  by  forging  or  rolling,  and  that  is 
capable  of  being  welded,"  is  often  used  in 
referring  to  articles  made  of  steel,  and  as  the 
method  of  making  pipe  from  both  materials  is 
identical,  and  experience  has  shown  that  there 

51 


Transverse  Test  for  Strength  of  Metal 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


is  little,  if  any,  difference  in  their  durability, 
only  a  brief  explanation  of  the  preparation  of 
the  two  materials  and  of  their  physical  and 
chemical  differences  will  be  given. 

The  process  of  transforming  pig-iron  into 

wrought-iron 
is  called  "pud- 
dling," by  which 
process  the  car- 
bon and  other 
foreign  matter 
is  removed,  or 
reduced  to  the 
lowest  possible 

Puddling  Furnace  i  •        • ,  rni    • 

limit.       This   is 

done  by  placing  the  pig-iron  on  the  hearth  of 
a  specially-constructed  furnace,  called  a  "re- 
verberatory  furnace,"  in  which  the  hot  gases 
are  deflected  toward  the  hearth,  fusing,  or 
melting  all  the  foreign  substances  (except  the 
carbon),  which  melt  at  a  lower  temperature 
than  the  iron  itself,  and  as  the  mass  is  slowly 
stirred  the  fusible  matter  is  gradually  worked 
out,  settling  in  a  molten  state  in  the  bottom 
of  the  hearth,  the  carbon  being  taken  up  and 
carried  off  with  the  gases. 

When  the  metal  has  been  freed,  to  an  ex- 
tent, of  this  foreign  matter  it  is  formed  into 
pasty  balls  of  convenient  size  for  handling, 


MATERIALS    AND     METHODS 


and  these  balls  are  hammered  or  squeezed, 
while  in  a  plastic  state,  to  still  further  elimi- 
nate impurities,  and  passed  through  rolls 
forming  "muck  bar,"  which  is  sheared,  piled, 
and  reheated  and  then  rolled  into  "skelp," 
from  which  form  it  is  ready  to  take  the  shape 
of  pipe,  by  a  process  to  be  described  later. 

Steel 

Steel  is  a  form  of  iron  in  which  the  amount 
of   carbon   is   intermediate   between   that   in 


A  Modern  Steel  Mill 


wrought-iron  and  cast-iron,  and  in  which  the 
carbon  does  not  exist  in  the  form  of  graphite, 
but  is  either  combined  with  or  dissolved  into 
the  steel.  It  is  also  distinguished  from 
wrought-iron  by  its  homogeneity,  or  freedom 
from  intermingled  slag  or  cinder. 

The  earliest  method  of  making  steel  was  by 
the  "cementation"  process,  by  which  ham- 
mered-out  bars  of  wrought  iron  were  given  a 
hard  steel  crust  by  heating  to  a  red  heat  in 
charcoal  or  bone  dust.  Crucible  steel,  the 

53 


PIPE  AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


forerunner  of  the  modern  steels,  was  first 
made  by  Huntsman,  in  England,  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  invention  of  Henry  Bessemer 
in  1855,  known  as  the  "Bessemer  Process," 
followed  in  1861  by  the  Seimens-Marten,  or 
"Open  Hearth  Process,"  both  of  which  pro- 
vided methods  for  making  steel  on  an  immense 
scale,  that  this  valuable  material  was  made 
available  for  general  purposes. 

The  following  description  of  steel-making, 
which  is  given  by  one  of  the  largest  producers 
of  steel  and  wrought  iron  pipe  in  the  United 
States,  explains  in  a  very  clear  and  interesting 
manner  the  processes  involved: 

"From  the  blast  furnace  ladles  having  a 
capacity  of  40  tons  each  convey  the  melted 
pig-iron  to  a  building  known  as  the  mixer 
house.  The  mixer  house  contains  large  brick- 
lined  vessels  of  about  300  tons  capacity  each, 
their  duty  being  to  keep  the  pig-iron  molten 
and  thoroughly  mixed .  Samples  are  taken  from 
these  mixers  at  regular  intervals  for  analysis. 

"As  required,  the  hot  metal  is  poured  from 
the  mixer  into  a  specially  designed  ladle  which 
delivers  it  to  the  Bessemer  Steel  Plant.  Here 
the  iron  is  poured  again,  this  time  into  a  large 
cylindrical  vessel  tapering  toward  and  open 
at  the  top,  mounted  on  trunnions,  and  operated 

54 


MATERIALS     AND     METHODS 


by  hydraulic  power.  When  ready,  the  vessel  is 
turned  from  a  horizontal  to  a  vertical  posi- 
tion, air  being  blown  through  the  contents. 

"Pig-iron  contains  between  94%  and  95% 
of  metallic  iron;  the  remaining  percentage 
consists  of  silicon,  manganese,  carbon,  sulphur 
and  phosphorous.  The  air  blast  mentioned 
above  oxidizes  the  sili- 
con and  manganese 
rapidly,  they  being  the 
first  impurities  to  be 
attacked,  at  the  same 
time  raising  the  heat 
of  the  molten  mass. 
As  the  heat  and  flame 
increase  the  carbon  oxi- 
dizes. At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  process  the 
flame  is  red  and  as  the 

Bessemer  Converters 

impurities   are   burned 

out  the  flame  changes  to  a  brilliant  white,  and 

soon  the  operation  is  completed. 

"The  vessel  is  now  turned  to  a  horizontal 
position  and  the  contents  poured  into  a  service 
ladle  from  the  bottom  of  which  the  hot  metal 
is  run  into  iron  moulds  forming  Bessemer 
Steel  ingots.  Test  ingots  are  taken  from  the 
beginning  and  end  of  each  of  these  melts  as 
they  are  being  poured  into  the  moulds,  these 

55 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


test  specimens  being  carefully  analyzed  and 
results  obtained  on  them  before  the  ingots 
are  rolled. 

"In  the  manufacture  of  Open  Hearth  steel 
large  rectangular  regenerative  furnaces  erected 
in  batteries  and  heated  by  gas  are  used. 
Molten  iron  is  charged  directly  into  the 
furnaces.  The  other  necessary  material  is 
loaded  in  charging  boxes  in  the  adjoining 
stock  house,  where  every  charge  is  carefully 

weighed.  These 
boxes  are  then 
conveyed  to  the 
open  hearth  fur- 
naces and  are 
emptied  by 
means  of  a 
charging  device 
of  special  design 
directly  into  the 
furnaces.  The  mixture  in  the  furnaces  is 
heated  until  it  reaches  the  molten  state  and 
then  is  slowly  boiled.  This  melting  or  boiling 
process  lasts  about  ten  hours,  sometimes 
twelve  or  fourteen  hours,  during  which 
time  the  impurities — the  carbon,  silicon,  man- 
ganese, sulphur  and  phosphorous — have  been 
reduced  to  within  the  required  content. 
Laboratory  tests  as  well  as  the  observation  of 

56 


Open  Hearth  Furnace 


MATERIALS     AND     METHODS 


expert  men  indicate  the  completion  of  the 
process,  at  which  time  the  furnace  is  tapped 
and  the  contents  run  into  ladles,  which  in  turn 
are  poured  into  molds  forming  open  hearth 
steel  ingots,  from  which  further  tests  are 
taken  for  analysis. 

"After  the  ingots  of 
either  the  Bessemer  or 
Open  Hearth  steel  have 
properly  cooled,  the 
moulds  are  lifted  or 
stripped  from  the  in- 
gots by  means  of  a 
crane — consisting  of  a 
clutch  for  lifting  the 
mould,  and  a  ram,  for 
pushing  out  the  ingot. 

"Having  been  stripped  of  their  moulds,  it 
is  necessary  to  reheat  the  ingots  in  order  to 

have  a  uniform 
temperature 
throughout  for 
the  subsequent 
rolling  required 
to  reduce  the 
ingots  in  size. 
This  reheating 
is  done  in  pit 
furnaces,  or 


Stripping  Ingots 


Rolling  Ingots 


57 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


soaking  pits,  equipped  with  recording  instru- 
ments which  keep  a  close  check  on  the  tem- 
perature of  the  furnace  while  the  ingots  are 
being  reheated.  Each  ingot  must  be  heated 
so  that  it  is  homogeneous  throughout  as  it 
can  be  readily  seen  that  an  ingot  having  a 
surface  much  hotter  than  the  inside,  or  vice 
versa,  cannot  be  properly  rolled. 

:<The  first  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  ingots 
is  done  in  a  mill  known  as  a  blooming  mill  of 
the  two-high  type,  which  consists  of  two 
parallel  grooved  rolls  through  which  the  ingots 
are  passed  and  repassed  until  they  are  formed 
into  blooms  or  slabs,  which  terms  are  used  to 
indicate  the  relative  size  and  shape  of  the 
semi-finished  material.  From  the  blooming 
mill  the  slabs  are  conveyed  to  hydraulic 
shears  which  cut  off  the  ends,  leaving  them 
clean  and  square. 

"The  slab  is 
now  conveyed 
to  the  universal 
plate  mill,  con- 
sisting of  verti- 
cal edging  rolls 
in  addition  to 
the  horizontal 
rolls,  wrhere  the 
slabs  are  rolled 
58 


MATERIALS    AND     METHODS 


into  plates  of  uniform  width  and  thickness, 
known  as  skelp,  and  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  pipe. 

"In  making  the  narrower  widths  of  skelp 
the  blooms  are  rolled  into  billets  or  bars  which 
are  run  through  a  series  of  rolls  known  as  a  con- 
tinuous mill,  and  the  skelp  so  produced  is  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  smaller  sizes  of  pipe. ' ' 

The  actual  processes  of  making  wrought- 
iron  and  steel  pipe  which,  beginning  with  the 
skelp,  are  identical,  are  described  by  this 
manufacturer  thus : 

Small  pipe  is  made  by  the  butt- weld  process . 
This  consists  of  heating  the  skelp  in  a  furnace 
to  a  welding  heat,  and  wrhen  the  proper  tem- 
perature is  reached  the  skelp  is  drawn  with 
tongs  through  a 
hell  or  circular 
die,  the  inside 
diameter  of 
which  is  approx- 
imately the  same 
as  the  outside 
diameter  of  the 
pipe  when 
finished. 

"The  welded  pipe,  still  red  hot,  is  now  run 
through  sizing  and  straightening  rolls  and 
thence  to  cooling  tables  or  skids. 

59 


Butt  Weld  Tube  Mill 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


is  The  temperature  of  the  pipe  is  greatly 
reduced  while  on  these  cooling  beds,  and 
it  is  usually  here  that  the  uneven,  or  crop, 
ends  are  cut  off,  so  that  we  now  have  the 
finished  pipe  ready  for  threading  and  testing. 
;cThe  larger  sizes  of  pipe  are  made  by  the 
lap- weld  process.  The  skelp  is  first  heated 

a  cherry  red  and 
then  bent  into 
the  shape  of  a 
pipe  writh  edges 
slightly  over- 
lapping. This 
operation  forms 
the  pipe  but  does 
not  weld  it.  It 
is  now  charged 
into  a  furnace  and  reheated  to  a  welding  heat, 
and  is  'then  forced  between  welding  rolls  and 
over  a  mandrel  of  approximately  the  same 
size  diameter  as  the  internal  diameter  of  the 
pipe.  The  pressure  of  the  rolls  with  the 
mandrel  inside  the  pipe  causes  the  over- 
lapping edges  to  become  welded. 

''The  welded  pipe  now  passes  through  a 
series  of  rolls  known  as  sizing  rolls,  which 
produce  an  equal  pressure  on  the  whole 
diameter,  and  thence  through  the  cross 
rolls  which  finish  the  surface  and  further 

60 


Lap  Weld  Furnace 


MATERIALS     AND     METHODS 


straighten  the  pipe  —  after  which  the  pipe 
is  cooled  and  conveyed  to  the  cold-straight- 
ening press,  where  it  is  given  a  final  straight- 
ening. 

"The  pipe  is  now  ready  to  be  finished  as 
plain  end  pipe,  or  to  be  fitted  with  threads 
or  couplings." 

As  the  development  of  the  steel  industry  is 
of  comparatively  recent  date,  the  first  rolled 
metal  pipe  was  of  wrought  iron  and  its  pro- 
duction in  this  country  dates  from  about  1830, 
the  first  pipe  mill  being  located  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

According  to  the  best  information  obtain- 
able, rolled  steel  pipe  was  first  produced  in 
this  country  in  1887  by  Frank  Hearn,  Man- 
ager of  the  Riverside  Iron  Works,  Benwood, 
near  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 

Because  of  the  high  tensile  strength  and 
extreme  ductility  of  rolled  wrought  iron  and 
steel  pipe,  and  the  fact  that  it  can  be  produced 
economically  in  sizes  smaller  than  it  is  pract- 
icable to  mold  cast  iron  pipe,  the  growth  of 
the  industry  in  the  United  States  in  the  past 
quarter  century  has  been  truly  phenomenal. 

Careful  consideration  and  comparison  of 
the  methods  of  making  metal  pipe,  however, 
as  described  in  this  chapter,  will  show  that 

61 


PIPE  AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


with  cast  iron  pipe  the  greater  amount  of 
labor  is  in  the  preparation  of  the  molds  and 
cores  (nearly  all  hand  work)  and  the  material 
is  used  in  its  practically  unchanged  form, 
whereas  in  the  making  of  wrought  iron  and 
steel  pipe  the  greater  amount  of  labor  is  in  the 
preparation  of  the  material,  changing  it  from 
its  natural  to  an  artificial  form  to  meet  cert- 
ain requirements  of  tensile  strength,  which 
can  only  be  met  by  the  sacrifice  of  durability. 


CHAPTER  III 


SOME  TECHNICAL  AND  HISTORICAL 

DATA   ON   METAL  PIPE 

DETERIORATION 


CHAPTER    III 

SOME    TECHNICAL   AND    HISTORICAL   DATA    ON 
METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 

ONE  of  the  most  fascinating  studies  for 
the  student  of  metallurgical  chemistry 
in  the  past  twenty  or  twenty -five  years 
has  been  the  cause  of  rust — the  acknowledged 
arch-enemy  of  all  iron  products.  Some  five  or 
six  different  theories  have  been  evolved,  each 
of  which  has  its  adherents,  but  since  it  is  not 
so  much  the  cause  of  rust  with  which  the  user 
of  pipe  is  concerned  as  the  effect,  the  following 
paper  presented  at  the  Convention  of  the  Amer- 
ican Foundrymen's  Association,  held  in  Atlan- 
tic City,  N.  J.,  Sept.  30-Oct.  2,  1915,  on  "The 
Structural  or  Mechanical  Theory  of  the  Effect 
of  Rust  on  Cast  Iron  and  Wrought  Iron  and 
Steel,"  by  the  author,  in  collaboration  with 
Mr.  Harry  Y.  Carson,  may  prove  of  value: 

'  TAPER  BY  R.  C.   Me  WANE" 

"From  out  of  the  maze  of  chemical  con- 
troversy of  recent  years  as  to  the  cause,  or 
causes,  of  rust,  stands  the  fact  that  cast  iron 

65 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 

resists  the  action,  or  actions,  that  prove  so 
quickly  and  so  completely  destructive  to 
wrought  iron  or  steel,  and  with  this  fact 
chemists  have  never  yet  been  able  to  reconcile 
their  theories. 

"In  all  the  chemical,  or  electro-chemical 
theories  so  far  advanced,  cast  iron  has  been 
shown  to  be  most  susceptible  to  rust,  because 
of  the  larger  percentage  it  contains  of  foreign 
matter,  such  as  graphite,  silicon,  manganese, 
sulphur  and  phosphorous,  yet  the  facts  of 
history  prove  that  while  cast  iron  will  become' 
quickly  coated  with  rust,  it  will  remain  prac- 
tically unimpaired  in  weight  and  strength  for 
hundreds  of  years  under  conditions  that 
prove  absolutely  fatal  to  wrought  iron  or 
steel  in  10  to  20  years. 

"These  facts  indicate,  therefore,  that  we 
must  look  to  other  than  chemical  causes  for  a 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  phenomenon 
of  rust  damage,  and  the  theory  which  seems 
to  be  most  nearly  in  harmony  with  the  facts, 
but  which  has  received  scant  attention  in  the 
discussion  of  this  subject  heretofore,  is  that 
of  the  marked  difference  in  structure  between 
cast  iron  and  wrought  iron  and  steel. 

"This    difference    is    graphically    shown   in 

"Only  "rolled"  wrought  iron  and  steel  is  referred  to  in  this  paper. 

66 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


Figs.  1  and  2,  these  illustrations  being  repro- 
ductions of  actual  photomicrographs. 

"Whatever  may  be  the  accepted  theory  of 
the    actual  process    of     rust,    whether    the 


Fig.  2 
Wrought  Iron 


hydrogen-peroxide,  the  carbonic  acid  or  the 
electrolytic,  the  three  most  generally  accepted 
theories  at  present,  it  is  unanimously  agreed 
that  the  process  is  a  form  of  slow  combustion, 
with  the  presence  of  oxygen  as  an  all-important 
factor,  and  that  if  the  material  can  be  fully 
and  permanently  protected,  to  exclude  oxygen, 
rusting  will  not  take  place. 

"By  reference  to  Fig.  1,  it  will  be  noted  that 
cast  iron  has  a  distinct  granular  or  crystalline 
structure,  a  form  common  to  all  metals  having 
undergone  the  simple  process  of  smelting  and 
cooling,  which'  was  one  of  the  processes  of 
nature  in  the  formation  of  the  ore,  and  it  is 
this  distinctive  structure,  in  combination 

67 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


with  the  chemical,  or  electro-chemical,  action 
taking  place  on  the  surface  of  the  metal, 
which  serves  to  stop  that  action,  after  it  has 
proceeded  to  a  certain  depth,  and  hold  the 
result  (ferrous  oxide)  as  a  permanent,  oxygen- 
excluding  protective  coating.  This  stoppage 
of  rust  action  results  from  the  fact  that  the 
crystals,  or  granules,  in  cast  iron  are  bound 
together  at  one  or  more  points  by  a  metallic 
bond,  or  bonds,  and  after  a  rust  coating  has 
been  formed  of  the  loose  crystals  on  and  near 
the  surface  of  the  metal,  and  the  oxide  pene- 
trates between  the  crystals  more  strongly 
bound  together,  the  force  exerted  by  the  ab- 
sorption of  moisture  is  not  sufficient  to 
separate  the  crystals,  and  the  oxide  remains 
as  a  permanent  coating. 

"  The  undisputed  fact  that  from  the  moment 
we  begin  to  manipulate  cast  iron  by  puddling 
and  rolling,  we  lay  down  the  barriers  for  the 
invasion  of  rust,  and  the  further  well-known 
fact  that  the  thinner  a  sheet  of  wrought  iron 
or  steel  is  rolled  the  more  rapidly  it  will  suc- 
cumb to  the  action  of  rust,  leads  inevitably 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  change  in  structure 
brought  about  by  such  manipulation  has  a 
most  important,  if  not  altogether  final,  bearing 
on  this  much  discussed  question. 

"Passing  over  the  intermediate  processes, 
68 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


from  cast  iron  to  the  extreme  of  thinly  rolled 
sheet  steel,  we  find  the  structure  of  the  metal 
to  have  changed  from  crystalline  to  fibrous 
and  finally  to  distinct  laminations,  or  leaves 
and  in  each  process  of  heating  and  rolling  the 
natural  bond  found  in  the  crystalline  structure 
of  cast  iron  has  been  further  disturbed,  until 
in  the  steel  sheet  we  find  the  leaves  bound  to- 
gether largely,  if  not  altogether,  by  the  force 
of  compression,  yet  distinctly  differentiated 


Fig.  3 

one  from  the  other  by  the  very  small  per- 
centage of  silicon  always  present  but  uncom- 
bined  with  the  steel. 

"The  rusting  of  steel  is  evidenced  by  a  form 
of  pitting  and  exfoliation,  or  flaking-off  of 
minute  particles  of  metal,  exposing  a  new 
surface  for  attack,  from  time  to  time,  until 
the  entire  section  is  affected.  This  can  be 
clearly  understood  by  reference  to  Fig.  3, 
which  is  from  a  drawing  made  to  represent  a 
piece  of  sheet  steel,  very  much  enlarged, 
showing  a  surface  and  sectional  structure,  and 

69 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


a  typical  pit,,  which  is  likely  to  occur  at  various 
points  in  sheets  apparently  well-protected 
with  paint  or  other  coating.  Uncoated  sheets 
will  scale  off  much  more  uniformly,  and  despite 
the  claims  of  various  manufacturers  in  the 
past  few  years  of  having  produced  a  coating 
that  will  successfully  and  permanently  adhere 
to  the  smooth  surface  of  rolled  steel,  rust 
damage  to  such  steel  goes  on  apace,  especially 
in  locations  where  it  cannot  be  watched  and 
the  coating  frequently  renewed. 

"An  important  factor  in  the  scaling-off  or 
breaking  up  of  the  surface  of  rolled  steel,  and 
one  which  has  never  been  considered  hereto- 
fore, would  seem  to  be  the  forces  of  expansion 
and  contraction  as  offering  a  reasonable  and 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  rapid  deterior- 
ation of  such  steel  when  exposed  to  sudden 
and  violent  changes  in  temperature.  These 
changes,  taking  place  on  the  surface  of  the 
metal  before  the  interior  portions  are  affected, 
tend  to  buckle,  or  stretch,  the  surface  metal 
and  to  tear  the  laminations  apart  or  open  them 
up  so  that  rust  action  is  accelerated. 

"The  change  in  structure  from  a  crystal  of 
appreciable  size,  bound  to  its  fellows  by  a 
metallic  bond,  to  an  infinitesimally  thin  leaf, 
with  no  bond  strong  enough  to  resist  the 
efforts  of  the  rust  coating  to  tear  it  away  from 

70 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


its  fellows,  is  a  thoroughly  understandable 
and  logical  explanation  of  the  effect  of  rust 
on  the  two  materials,  and  is  not  in  any  way 
weakened  by  the  well-founded  claim  that 
'old-fashioned  wrought  iron'  resists  rust  to  a 
remarkable  degree. 

"The  early  and  crude  methods  of  making 
wrought  iron, 'while  producing  metal  of  greater 
tensile  strength  than  cast  iron,  accomplished 
the  desired  end  by  increasing  the  density  of 
the  structure  through  hammering  or  forging, 
making  little  change  in  the  shape  of  the 
crystals  and,  above  all,  not  destroying  the 
natural  metallic  bonds  between  the  granules  of 
iron.  Structures  such  as  link  chain  bridges, 
erected  more  than  100  years  ago,  have  been 
referred  to  as  instances  of  the  power  of* 
wrought  iron  to  resist  rust,  yet  links  taken 
from  these  bridges,  showing  no  sign  of 
deterioration  from  rust,  have  been  heated 
and  rolled  by  modern  processes  and  found 
to  rust  as  rapidly  as  ordinary  steel  plates. 
On  the  other  hand,  rolled  steel  plates  may  be 
cut  up,  remelted  and  made  into  steel  castings, 
thus  restoring  the  natural  bonds  in  the  crystal- 
line structure,  and  it  is  found  that  they  resist 
rust  almost  as  well  as  cast  iron. 

"  No  more  striking  illustration  of  the  lasting, 
or    rust-resisting    qualities    of    cast    iron    is 

71 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


afforded  than  the  pieces  of  cast  iron  pipe 
shown  in  Fig.  4,  the  photographs  having  been 
taken  in  Paris,  France,  in  1909. 


Fig.  4  —  Pieces  of  Cast  Iron  Pipe  from  an  Underground  Line  Installed  Prior  to  1685 

"These  pieces  of  pipe  are  from  an  under- 
ground line  installed  prior  to   1685  for  the 

purpose  of  con- 
veying water  to 
the  famous 
fountains  in  the 
Versailles  Park, 
and  official  re- 
port says  that 
when  taken  up 


Fig.  5-Effect  of  Rust  on  Cast  Iron 

*  in     apparently 
as  good  condition  as  when  installed.' 

"Figs.  5  and  6  illustrate  the  relative  effect 
of  rust  on  cast  iron  and  wrought  iron.     The 

72 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


cast  iron  shown  here  was  used  in  the  same  ser- 
vice with  the 
wrought  iron 
and  for  the  same 
length  of  time, 
and  shows  no 
sign  of  deterior- 
ation, while  the 
wrought  iron  is 
completely  de- 
stroyed." 

' '  PAPER  BY  HARRY  Y.  CARSON" 


Fig.  6— Effect  of  Rust  on  Wrought  Iron 


"  Perhaps  no  field  affords  a  better  means  of 
studying  iron  pipe  corrosion  at  first  hand 
than  pipe  contained  in  the  plumbing  of 
buildings.  First,  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
both  WTought  iron  and  cast  iron  pipe  have  been 
installed  and  used  in  the  waste  lines  of  build- 
ings during  the  past  20  years;  second,  old 
buildings  are  continually  being  torn  down  or 
remodelled,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  obtain 
specimens  of  cast  iron  pipe  which  have  been 
in  the  same  service  with  wrought  iron  and 
steel  pipe;  and  third,  when  such  a  pipe  line 
fails  the  sewer  gases  escape  from  it  and  render 
poisonous  the  atmosphere  of  the  building. 

"Corrosion  in  waste  and  vent  pipes  is 
attributable  to  the  moist  condition  of  the 

73 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


air  within  the  piping  system,  together  with 
the  hydrogen  sulphide  (H2S)  and  carbon  diox- 
ide (Cos),  etc.,  products  of  bacterial  decom- 
position of  sewage,  which  may  be  considered 
as  dilute  acid  reagents  attacking  the  internal 
surface  of  the  pipe. 

"  Such  are  the  normal  conditions  analagous 
perhaps  to  the  damp  air  of  cellars  wiiere  it  is 
so  common  to  note  the  corroding  of  iron  taking 


Fig.  7— Wrought  Iron  and  Cast  Iron  Pipe  Coupled  Together  for  Service  to  Compare 
Durability 

place  at  a  fairly  high  rate.  In  many  drains 
and  vents  the  corrosive  action  is  found  to  be 
even  more  severe  than  this.  Where  hot  water 
or  steam  is  discharged  into  the  waste  pipes, 
or  where  strong  acids,  disinfectants  or  other 
strongly  corrosive  substances  are  discharged 
along  with  the  waste  water  into  the  lines,  the 
corrosion  of  wrought  iron  or  steel  becomes  far 
more  rapid  and  the  lines  break  down  in  5  to 
10  years  after  being  first  put  into  use.  To 
explain  the  wide  difference  that  exists  between 
the  life  of  cast  iron  pipe  and  wrought  pipe, 
none  of  the  commonly  discussed  theories  can  be 
made  to  fit  the  facts  of  actual  service.  Indeed, 

74 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


they  are  in   direct   opposition   to    the  facts. 

"Typical  is  the  comparison  offered  by  the 

installation   illustrated   in   Figs   7,   8   and   9, 


Fig.  8— The  Wrought  Iron  Pipe,  Fig.  9— The  Cast  Iron  Pipe, 

Showing  Effects  of  Corrosion  Still  serviceable 

which  gives  an  actual  comparison  of  the 
durability  of  cast  iron  and  wrought  iron  soil 
pipe  joined  together  and  used  in  the  same 
5 -inch  drainage  stack  for  18  years. 

;'The  wrought  iron  pipe  in  all  cases  indi- 
cates a  continuous  peeling  off  of  rust  scales, 
until  the  whole  section  is  destroyed,  while 
cast  iron  pipe  is  unimpaired  by  the  same 
corroding  action  which  destroys  wrought 
pipe.  The  cast  iron  pipe  shows  when  removed, 
a  closely  adhering  rust  coating  on  the  surface, 
which  undoubtedly  prevents  the  destruction 
of  the  pipe.  The  loss  in  weight  and  original 
thickness  of  cast  iron  pipe  by  18  years  of 
service  was  something  less  than  1  per  cent, 
while  that  of  the  wrought  iron  pipe  was  more 
than  72  per  cent.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  1  per  cent  loss  in  cast  iron 
pipe  actually  took  place  during  the  first  year 

75 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


the  pipe  was  put  into  use,  since  this  pipe  is 
not  tar-coated,  and  it  is  well-known  that  the 
surface  of  uncoated  cast  iron  pipe  corrodes 
very  quickly.  It  is  probable  that  uncoated 
cast  iron  pipe  will  show  a  higher  initial  loss 
by  corrosion  during  the  first  few  months  of 
service  than  would  be  shown  in  the  wrought 
iron  or  steel  pipe  subjected  to  the  same  cor- 
rosive action  during  the  same  period  of  time. 

"Observing  the  manner  in  which  all  rolling 
mill  products  corrode,  we  must  necessarily 
attach  a  great  deal  of  importance  to  the 
microscopic  structure  of  the  iron.  The  same 
typical  flaking-off  of  rust  scales  may  be  ob- 
served on  rolled  steel  beams,  round  or  square 
bars,  or  any  other  of  the  many  products  which 
are  turned  out  of  the  modern  rolling  mill. 
In  every  known  case  the  material  showing  this 
typical  flaking-off  has  a  rolled,  laminated 
structure,  in  which  the  natural  bonds  be- 
tween the  existing,  but  deformed,  granules 
of  iron  are  completely  destroyed  or  weakened 
beyond  the  point  at  which  they  can  success- 
fully resist  the  action  or  actions  of  rust. 

"'Ancient  wrought  iron  or  steel,  and  even 
that  made  100  years  ago,  is  known  to  have 
resisted  corrosion  much  better  than  the 
modern  wrought  iron  or  modern  rolled  steel. 
This  can  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  old 

76 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


iron  does  not  have  the  same  physical  struc- 
ture as  the  modern  milled  product,  because 
ancient  iron  was  smelted  from  the  ore  by 
crude  methods  into  small-size  pieces  of  metal 
and  then  hammered — not  rolled — into  its 
finished  shape.  Had  the  ancient  iron  been 
manipulated  like  tiie  modern  rolled  steel,  it 
could  not  have  lasted  more  than  a  few  years. 
"These  facts  lead  to  the  obvious  conclusion, 
namely,  that  iron  which  has  a  granular  or 
crystalline  structure  in  which  the  natural 
bond  has  not  been  disturbed  by  mechanical 
manipulation,  is  more  resistant  to  corrosion, 
regardless  of  its  chemical  content  than  iron 
or  steel  in  which  an  attempt  has  been  made 
after  rolling,  to  restore  the  crystalline  struc- 
ture by  annealing  or  other  processes." 

In  addition  to  the  more  rapid  corrosion  of 
the  metals  themselves,  it  must  be  considered 
that  the  section  of  pipe  made  of  rolled  wrought 
iron  or  steel  sheets,  is  much  thinner  than  that 
of  cast  iron  pipe,  the  relative  thickness  of 
some  of  the  larger  sizes  being  as  follows: 

Size  Cast  Iron— Class  B  Wrought  Iron  or  Steel 

24"  % 

30"  1 

36"  iy8 

42"  1M 

48"  1% 

77 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  even  if  the 
rate  of  corrosion  were  the  same  for  the  two 
metals  the  steel  would  be  perforated  while  the 
cast  iron  would  still  have  about  three  fourths 
of  its  thickness  unaffected.  Exhaustive  tests 
have  proven  that  cast  iron  loses  through  cor- 
rosion approximately  oiif3  per  cent,  of  its 
original  thickness  and  strength  in  the  first 
ten  years  under  ground.  Should  the  same 
ratio  of  loss  continue,  the  pipe  would  be 
entirely  consumed  in  a  thousand  years.  But 
further  tests  have  proven  that,  under  normal 
conditions,  corrosion  of  cast  iron  pipe  ceases 
after  the  first  ten  years,  so  that  its  life  may  be 
said  to  be  even  longer. 

Before  steel  came  into  use  many  cities  used 
genuine  WROUGHT  IRON  for  water  mains. 
The  early  pipe  made  of  this  material  resisted 
corrosion  to  a  much  greater  degree  than 
modern  steel  pipe,  but  the  metal  is  not  suitable 
for  large  diameter  pipe.  The  experience  with 
wrought  iron  pipe  (cited  in  the  following 
instances)  would  have  been  much  worse  had 
steel  been  used. 

REPORT  FOR  1880,  SALEM,  MASS.  PAGE  13 

"There  has  been  some  trouble  with  the 
wrought  iron  pipe  the  past  year,  principally 

78 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


from  rust  and  letting  the  water  on  the  hy- 
drants at  fires.  In  all  cases  of  breaks,  the 
pipe  has  been  found  badly  rusted,  and  there 
are  doubtless  many  small  leaks  that  have  not 
shown  on  the  surface  as  yet  but  will  if  they 
get  larger." 

This   was   a   significant   forerunner   of   the 


Salem  Ruins 

report  of  Franklin  H.  Went  worth,  Secretary 
of  the  National  Fire  Prevention  Association 
on  the  disastrous  fire  in  Salem,  Massachusetts, 
June,  25,  1914,  w^hich  caused  a  loss  of  more 
than  $15,000,000,  and  from  whose  report  the 
following  is  quoted: 

"The  wrought  iron   waiter   mains   did   not 
79 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


burst  until  after  the  fire  had  spent  its  force, 
but  the  constant  fear  of  their  known  weakness 
paralyzed  all  efforts  to  use  water,  except 
by  the  steamers  supplying  their  owTn 
pressure.  The  abundant  water  supplies 
of  Peabody,  Danvers  and  Beverly  were 
gingerly  tied  into  the  Salem  system  in 
fear  that  the  pressure  they  had  to  con- 
tribute wrould  shatter  Saiem's  obsolete 
old  mains  and  end  the  water-throwing 
for  good.  With  water  enough  to  raft 
Salem  out  to  sea  her  citizens  on  the 
borders  of  the  fire  zone  threw  away 
their  garden  hose  and  extinguished  the 
sparks  on  their  shingle  roofs  with  tree- 
spraying  outfits." 

REPORT  FOR  1880,  LOWELL,  MASS. 
-PAGE  54 

'This  wrought  pipe  has  been  in  use 
about  13  years  and  on  uncovering  it 
many  places  were  found  badly  cor- 
roded. There  w^as  one  leak  of  con- 
siderable  size  and  several  other  places 

pipe  in"    where    the    water    oozed    out    slowly. 

use  rive    Dout>tless   before   another   season   the 

Years, 

Leaven-    pipe    wrould    have    burst    in    several 

worth, 

Kan.     places. 

80 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


REPORT  FOR  1890,  WORCESTER,  MASS.- 

PAGE9 

"I  would  respectfully  suggest  that  larger 
pipe  be  laid  as  recommended  in  former  re- 
ports, and  that  cast  iron  pipe  be  laid  in  place 
of  wrought  in  streets  where  leaks  have  been 
frequent  the  last  year."  (96  leaks  were  dis- 
covered that  year.) 

REPORT  OF  T.  J.  BELL,  ASST.  SUPT.V 
CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  WATER  WORKS 

"With  but  few  exceptions  all  cities  having 
adopted  in  the  original  construction  wrought 
pipe,  are  now  using  cast  iron  pipes.  It  is  yet 
to  be  proven  that  wrought  iron  pipe,  whether 
coated  with  asphaltum,  enameled,  galvanized 
or  cemented  can  be  relied  on  beyond  ten  years. 
In  our  practice  five  years  is  the  limit  of  its 
durability,  for  corrosion  is  constantly  weak- 
ening its  structure  and  it  is  only  a  question 
of  time,  depending  on  the  nature  of  the  soil 
in  which  it  lies,  the  pressure  it  has  to  withstand 
and  its  original  thickness  and  the  material  with 
which  it  is  protected,  when  it  will  give  out." 

Probable  Life  of  Steel  Pipe 

Owing,  perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  many 
engineers  and  superintendents  of  water  works, 

81 


PIPE   AND   THE    PUBLIC   WELFARE 

where  steel  lines  are  in  use,  are  still  in  office, 
and  would  naturally  be  disinclined  to  reverse 
their  judgment  in  having  installed  such  ma- 
terial, it  has  not  been  possible  to  obtain 
figures  regarding  deterioration  and  main- 
tenance in  all  cases  where  such  figures  are 
desired. 

The  two  conduits  which  furnish  the  most 
reliable  data  are  those  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
and  Coolgardie,  Australia.  At  Rochester, 
26  miles  of  38  inch  steel  pipe  was  laid  in  1893 
and  1894.  In  a  paper  read  at  a  convention 
of  the  New  England  Water  Works  Association 
held  in  Rochester  in  1910,  Mr.  Emil  Kuichling, 
Consulting  Engineer  in  the  construction  of 
this  main,  stated  that  the  best  of  metal- 
lurgical skill  was  embodied  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  pipe  and  in  the  work  of  construction 
and  over-seeing,  the  specifications  were  closely 
adhered  to.  Within  four  years  after  being- 
placed  in  service  defects  began  to  develop, 
and  increased  markedly  up  to  the  present  time 
when  the  line  is  in  dangerous  condition. 
In  discussing  Mr.  Kuichling's  paper,  Mr. 
Fisher,  City  Engineer  of  Rochester  stated 
that  the  annual  expense  of  maintenance  was 
about  $10,000.00.  Repairs  consisted  of  un- 
covering the  pipe,  driving  into  the  rust  holes 
a  wooden  plug  which  was  cut  off  flush  with 

82 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


the  exterior  of  the  pipe,  scraping  out  all  the 
rust  possible,  placing  a  lead  patch  over  the 
hole,  over  this  a  steel  patch  held  in  place  by 
wrought  iron  bands  drawn  tight  around  the 


Leaks  per  Year  in  Rochester.  N.Y.   Conduits 
(From  Annual  Reports,  Dept.of  Public  WorJcs.  J891-J909  inc.) 


Charttcl  ty  K,th,r4  1. 


Leakage  Records 

I'M"™0' 


Tot*INo;<I»jni.>    u 
Condtlt   II— (J6.188   ttL-38"  itttl   pipe) 
J-J03 IS 

IMS'.'.V:::::::    M 

ia;;;;;;;;;;  >!  iiiiii;;;  A 


Year-  SS 

Comparison  of  t  he  /our  Conduits.  s 

Section      — 


.......-  . 

^-  Reco'rdi  complrte/eronfy  /*  yrarj 

pipe  by  malleable  iron  shoes  with  threads  and 
nuts,  the  steel  patch  caulked  and  the  whole 
protected  by  two  coats  of  special  paint. 
Only  a  portion  of  the  pipe  was  uncovered 
each  year,  and  of  the  portion  uncovered,  the 

83 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


accompanying  chart  shows  the  number  of 
leaks  discovered  and  repaired  up  to  the  time 
of  their  last  pipe  report  in  1909. 

These  pittings  were  discovered  on  the  out- 
side of  the  pipe;  the  inside  would  probably 
show,  if  examined,  a  still  worse  condition. 
As  the  pipe  has  nearly  reached  the  limit  of 
its  useful  life,  the  results  since  1907  can 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  show  an  increased 
rate  of  deterioration.  Their  annual  reports 
show  the  following  cost  of  maintenance  per 
mile  per  year  calculated  as  applying  on  the 
whole  line: 

1900 $122.08 

1901 92.60 

1902..  . 154.44 

1903 133.90 

1904 256.93 

1905 280.63 

1906-7 255 .45 

These  expenses  for  seven  years  are  during 
the  comparatively  early  life  of  the  pipe. 
Mr.  Fisher's  statement  in  1910  that  about 
$10,000.00  were  then  expended  annually  on 
the  line  shows  an  expense  of  maintenance  of 
about  $385.00  per  year  for  the  whole  line. 
Mr.  John  F.  Skinner,  Special  Assistant  En- 
gineer, appointed  to  make  an  examination 
of  this  line,  reported  in  1901  (7  years  after 
its  installation)  that  prior  to  1900  no  holes  in 

84 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


the   plates   were    discovered    but    that    since 
that  time  fifteen  had  been  found  in  seven 

different  excavations. 
During  the  investi- 
gation eight  more  de- 
veloped, and  a  large 
number  of  pits  were 
found,  some  so  deep 
that  it  was  found  ad- 
visable to  patch  them. 
In  one  case  three  leaks 
were  found  in  a  single 
sheet  of  the  steel.  The 

SteelPipeat  Rochester, N.  Y., Showing     exnprienre  of  Rochester 
Pitting  and  Formation  of  Tubercles 

has  indeed  been  unfor- 
tunate.    The  result 
shows  that  they  have 
at  the  present  time: 

An  unsafe  water  car- 
rier that  may  at  any 
time  give  out  and  de- 
prive the  city  of  water 
through  that  conduit. 
A  large  expense  for  re- 
pairs. 

No  physical  value  of 
material,  as  the  value 
of  the  steel  in  its  pres- 
ent condition  would  not  pay  for  its  removal. 

85 


Method  of  Repairing  Steel  Pipe  at 
Rochester — Plates  Held  in  Position 
By  Steel  Bands 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


A  prospect  of  a  large  expenditure  for  replace- 
ment with  a  durable  material. 

The  inconvenience  to  the  city  while  such  re- 
placement is  being  installed. 

If  cast  iron  pipe  had  been  installed  orig- 
inally, they  would  now  have: 

A  line  giving  them  good  service,  for  no 
cast  iron  lines  are  known  which  have  failed  in 
the  time  this  steel  line  has.  Security  in  water 
supply;  little  or  nothing  expended  for  main- 
tenance. 

In  addition,  at  the  end  of  the  life  of  a  cast 
iron  main,  there  is  left  nearly  the  original 
number  of  tons  of  re-meltable  iron,  which 
disregarding  market  fluctuations,  is  worth 
about  one-half  the  original  cost  of  the  pipe. 

Coolgardie,  Australia. — About  350  miles  of 
30-inch  steel  main  was  laid  from  an  im- 
pounding reservoir  to  a  service  reservoir  at 
Coolgardie  to  supply  the  gold  fields  which  are 
located  in  an  arid  region  with  only  about  five 
inches  of  rainfall  annually.  The  work  was 
completed  in  1903.  In  1909  the  Western  Aus- 
tralian government  found  it  necessary  to  in- 
stitute an  investigation  to  determine  the  best 
methods  for  checking  the  corrosion  which 
was  taking  place.  It  was  found  that  both 
internal  and  external  corrosion  were  in  prog- 
ress. The  committee  consisted  of  the  late 

86 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


Dr.  George  F.  Deacon,  Sir  William  Ramsay 
and  Mr.  Otto  Hehner.  They  found  that 
corrosion  was  working 
beneath  the  coating  which 
appeared  to  be  in  good 
condition.  An  analysis 
of  the  water  showed 
that  it  contained  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of 
sodium  chloride  and 
magnesium  chloride, 

1    .1  T  Steel  Pipe  Line  in  Oregon  Abandoned 

while  carbonates  were       After  Less  than  15  Years'  service 
present  in  minute  quan- 
tity only.  Generally  speaking,  the  report  shows 
the  pipe  to  be  in  very  bad  condition.     Mr. 
De     Bernales,     Managing     Director,     writes 
(August  20th) : 

"There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  Govern- 
ment made  a  serious  mistake  in  putting  in 
steel  pipe  instead  of  cast  iron  and,  further- 
more, the  whole  of  the  piping  will  have  to  be 
replaced  very  shortly.  The  Government,  I 
believe,  recognize  that  a  cast  iron  piping  is 
what  is  necessary,  but  are  stopped  from  re- 
placing the  present  line  with  a  cast  iron 
line  owing  to  the  enormous  expense  such  an 
enormous  undertaking  would  mean,  as  also 
the  reflection  it  would  make  on  their  admin- 
istration for  having  originally  put  in  steel  pipe." 

87 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


The  average  expense  of  making  necessary 
repairs  for  the  total  length  of  the  line  during 
the  three  years,  1907,  1908  and  1909,  was 
$197,58  per  mile  per  year,  not  counting  gen- 
eral expense,  nor  cost  of  extra  plumbing  due 
to  the  leaks,  and  other  items  of  loss. 

Other  steel  conduits  that  have  proved 
defective  in  foreign  countries  in  a  short  time 
may  be  briefly  mentioned  as  follows: 

Nancy,  France    Madrid,       Spain  Wittraund,    Germany 

Reims,  Santiago,     Cuba  Gottingen, 

Amens,  "         Havana,        "  Metz,  " 

St.Etienno,  Cienfuegos,    "  Berlin,  " 

Orleans,  Belocks,      Germany    Ladysmith,   So.  Africa 

Paris,  Nordenham,      "  Pretoria,          "         " 

Rome,  Italy        Zwicken, 

Port  Elizabeth,  So.  Africa  — defective  in  5  years 
Warwick,  Canada  "          "  2       " 

Tay  Bridge,  Great  Britain  —       "          "  9       " 

This  line  was  protected  by  a  wooden  box. 
Bombay,  India,  replaced  with  cast  iron  pipe  in  43/2  years. 

Troy,  N.  Y. — A  line  of  steel  pipe  laid  in 
1902  was  in  1912  so  nearly  at  the  end  of  its 
life  that  it  leaked  800,000  gallons  per  day,  as 
shown  by  tests,  and  contract  was  let  in  Jan- 
uary 1914,  for  over  6,000  tons  of  30-inch  cast 
iron  pipe  for  its  replacement.  This  steel  pipe 
was  made  and  laid  under  very  severe  specifi- 
cations. Mr.  J.  M.  Divin,  Superintendent  of 
the  Bureau  of  Water  Supply,  of  the  City  of 
Troy,  writes  (June  22d,  1912): 

88 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


"The  section  that  has  given  trouble  prom- 
ises more,  though  it  should  have  gone  from 
14  to  20  years.  I  am 
at  work  now  figuring 
on  a  36-inch  or  42-inch 
cast  iron  line  parallel- 
ing this  steel  line,  or 
may  possibly  conclude 
to  put  in  two  30-inch, 
which  would  give  us  a 
double  supply  when 
the  steel  line  was  en- 
tirely gone." 

It  will  be  noticed 
that  this  line  failed  to 
live  to  its  expected 
term  of  20  years. 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J. — This  line  of  steel 
pipe  laid  across  the  salt  meadows  in  1901 
was  made  under  stringent  specifications  which 
were  fully  lived  up  to  (see  their  report  for 
1900-1901).  In  addition  to  the  usual  coating 
this  pipe  was  protected  by  strips  of  burlap 
laid  on  the  outside  "while  the  coating  was 
still  hot  and  sticky,  by  a  gang  of  paper 
hangers,  in  the  same  way  wall  paper  is  brushed 
on  to  a  wall."  In  spite  of  all  this  protection 
the  line  has  rusted  beyond  repair,  has  been 
abandoned,  and  replaced  during  1914  with  a 

89 


Another    View    of    Abandoned    Steel 
Pipe  Line  in  Oregon 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


line  of  48-inch  cast  iron  pipe.  As  the  action 
of  salt  water  is  very  trying  to  any  metal 
structure,  this  can  hardly  with  fairness  be 
cited  as  an  instance  of  what  might  be  ex- 
pected under  usual  conditions,  and  is  men- 
tioned only  for  comparison,  for  which  pur- 
pose it  can  be  stated  that  a  cast  iron  main, 
paralleling  the  steel  main,  laid  ten  years 
earlier,  is  still  giving  good  service.  The  steel 
main  was  pa- 
trolled daily  its 
entire  length, 
and  the  cost  of 
repairs  was  con- 
siderable. 

Conditions  of 
soil,    water  and 

Cast  Iron  Pipe  Line  That  Replaced  Steel  Pipe  at  f        ,  £ 

Atlantic  city,  N.  j.  manuiacture  af- 

fect steel  pipe  to 

such  a  degree  that  as  these  conditions  vary, 
the  life  of  the  pipe  is  correspondingly  af- 
fected. Thus,  in  some  instances,  where  soil  and 
water  are  favorable,  we  find  steel  pipe  in  ap- 
parently good  condition,  while  in  some  in- 
stances it  is  deteriorating  rapidly  after  from  five 
to  ten  years'  service.  An  average  of  its  useful 
life  would  probably  be  somewhere  between 
ten  and  twenty  years,  while  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions  it  might  last  thirty  years. 

90 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


Probable  Life  of  Cast  Iron  Pipe 

The  ultimate  length  of  service  of  a  properly 
constructed  cast  iron  pipe  conduit  is  unknown, 
as  in  some  instances  the  earliest  pipe  cast  is 
still  in  use.  In  Versailles  a  line  of  cast  iron 
pipe  is  in  use  to-day  which  was  installed  2  1<9 
years  ago.  The  City  of  Glasgow,  in  commrn 
with  many  other  cities  in  Great  Britain,  has 
cast  iron  mains  laid  165  years  ago.  This  was 
uncovered  and  examined  in  1905  and  found  to 
be  in  perfect  condition. 

Following  are  some  official  reports  as  to 
the  experience  had  with  cast  iron  pipe  in 
different  European  cities,  as  given  in  a  book 
published  by  the  "Deutsch  Verbund:" 

Clermont-Ferrand.  —  The  first  Cast  Iron 
conduits  dated  of 
1748-1749.  The 
greatest  part  of  them 
are  still  in  service 
today  (1910).  (160 


161      VearS      Old         ^a^     *n     Clermont-Ferrand,     France. 
*  Still  in  Regular  Service 

then.) 

Rheims,  1748.  —  Those  pipes  were  removed 
to  be  replaced  by  modern  ones,  but  they  were 
still  in  very  good  state.  (162  years  old.) 

Saint-Etienne,  1782.  —  Conduits  still  in  ser- 
vice to-day. 

91 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


Brussels. — The  laying  out  of  the  conduits 
dates  of  1856-57.  Some  had  to  be  replaced 
in  different  sections  due  to  the  increase  in  the 
population,  but  in  general  most  of  them  used 
now  date  of  1856-57. 

Liege. — The  first  water  conduits  laid  in 
1867  are  still  in  use  to-day. 

Antwerp. — Some  of  the  pipes  were  laid  in 
1874-75  by  Dick  &  Quick.  The  greatest 
part  of  them  were  placed  in  1879-81,  and  the 
service  began  in  June,  1881.  A  second  main 
conduit  was  placed  in  1899.  All  are  in  good 
state.  (January,  1911.) 

Vienna. — Conduits  of  high  service  and 
line  of  813  kilometres  (542  miles),  of  pipes  of 
55  (2.16")  and  950  m/m.  (37.4")  diameter 
laid  in  1803;  still  in  service. 

Conduits  (called  Duke  of  Albert)  of  Cast 
Iron  pipes  105  m/m.  (4. 13")  in  diameter 
laid  in  1805,  are  still  in  good  working  service 
for  a  length  of  several  kilometres. 

London. — From  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Water  Works:  -"As  Chief  Engineer  for  a 
good  many  years  for  the  new  East  Company 
of  London,  I  had  many  occasions  of  seeing 
some  of  the  old  conduits  dating  of  some  90 
years,  which  when  removed  were  found  in  per- 
fect order." 

Aix-La-Chapelle,  1840-1841. — These  pipes 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


were  removed  in  1904  and  replaced  again  in 
another  section  of  the  city. 

Berlin. — The  muni-    

cipal  service  of  the 
Water  and  Gas  of  Ber- 
lin laid  their  first  Cast 
Iron  pipes  in  about 
1845-46.  The  canal- 
ization was  put  to  ser- 
vice January  1,  1847. 
Although  the  length  of 
time  since  put  in  regu- 
lar service  cannot  be 
exactly  determined,  but 
is  estimated  as  from  35 
to  40  years.  The  older 
conduits  placed  at  the 
centre  of  the  town  have 
been  replaced  at  times 
by  larger  ones,  but  used  again  after  standing 
same  tests  as  new  pipes.  These  old  pipes  were 
many  times  laid  down  again  just  because  of 
their  sound  appearance. 

Bochum,  1870. — We  never  had  any  repairs 
done  on  our  water  conduits. 

Bonn.— Gas  in  1878-79.    Water  in  1873-74. 
These  pipes  are  still  in  excellent  condition. 

Breslau. — Water    service    1850-55.      Some 
of  these  pipes  have  been  changed  after  35 

93 


Cast   Iron   Pipe   From   a    Line    120 
Years  Old  in  Stolpen,  Germany 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


years,  but  have  in  all  cases  been  laid  down 
again  as  new. 

Darmstadt. — One  of  the  old  conduits  laid 
in  the  18th  Century  is  still  in  good  working- 
order  to-day.  The  gas  canalization  dates  of 
1854.  It  has  for  a  great  length  of  it  been 
replaced  by  larger  mains,  but  the  old  pipes 
have  been  used 


Another  View  of  120  Year  Old  Pipe  From  Stolpen, 
Germany 


again. 

Ehrenbreit- 
stein.  —  Old 
Canalization 
dating  of  1750 
still  in  service. 
H  o  m  b  u  r  g 
Von  Der  Hohe, 
1790.  -  -  The 
conduits  are  still  in  service  and  they  do  not 
show  a  slight  attack  of  rust. 

Bains  de  Krouznach,  1872. — These  con- 
duits are  very  well  preserved,  the  Cast  Iron 
having  excessively  well  stood  the  saline  in- 
fluences of  the  soil. 

Leipsig,  1837. — The  pipes  when  removed 
were  found  to  be  in  excellent  condition. 

Mannheim. — Canalizations  dating  of  1850 
are  still  like  new. 

Weilburg  is  using  mains  installed  210  years 
ago.  At  Bombay  the  Vehar  mains,  after  55 

94 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


years'  service  have  been  taken  up  and  relaid 
within  the  city  boundary.  Mr.  Midgley 
Taylor  in  his  report  on  the  Bombay  cast  iron 
pipe  says:  "In  May,  1912,  an  inspection  made 
of  a  piece  of  cast  iron  main,  48  inches,  laid  in 
1893,  showed  that  there  was  absolutely  no 
corrosion  on  the  main,  that  the  coating  which 
had  been  originally  placed  on  the  pipe,  was 
in  good  order,  and  that,  in  consequence,  the 
co-efficient  of  roughness  would  remain  the 
same  from  the  time  that  the  main  was  laid 
in  1893  to  the  present  day." 

Cast  iron  pipe  has  of  course  been  in  use 
in  this  country  a  shorter  time,  but  no  cast 
iron  mains  are  now  known  here  that  have 
worn  out,  or  rusted  out. 

We  thus  see  that  the  structure  itself  is  prac- 
tically everlasting.  Reasons  of  expediency, 
necessity  of  increasing  the  supply  (due  to 
growth  of  population)  by  installing  larger 
mains,  and  other  unforeseen  contingencies 
may  cause  the  obsolescence  of  cast  iron  pipe 
before  its  physical  deterioration.  On  account 
of  these  factors,  which  in  most  cases  are  re- 
mote, it  is  customary  in  calculating  to  assign 
a  useful  life  of  100  years  to  cast  iron  pipe. 

Faults  that  are  common  to  both  steel  and 
cast  iron  pipe  are: 

Tuberculation.  Electrolysis. 

95 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


TUBERCULATION  is  a  growth  (due  to 
properties  in  some  waters)  on  the  interior 
surface  of  the  pipe,  which  reduces  its  area, 
and  consequently,  its  carrying  capacity.  This 
growth  is  equal,  under  the  same  conditions 
for  both  steel  and  cast  iron  pipe.  Under 
modern  methods  it  is  possible  easily  and 
cheaply  to  remove  tuberculation  from  cast 
iron  mains  by  scraping,  thus  restoring  nearly 
its  original  carrying  capacity,  while  this  is 
not  practicable  with  steel  pipe,  as  the  scraping 
would  remove  the  coating,  which  even  with- 
out tampering  will  not  adhere,  and  thus 
destroy  the  life  of  the  pipe. 

ELECTROLYSIS  is  the  deterioration  of 
the  structure  of  the  metal  itself  due  to  the 
electrolytic  action  of  stray  electric  currents 
from  trolley  systems.  This  can  be  prevented 
by  the  proper  return  to  the  power  station  of 
the  current.  Steel  is  a  better  conductor  than 
cast  iron  and  for  this  reason  stray  currents 
enter  and  leave  a  line  of  steel  pipe  at  more 
frequent  intervals  than  the  same  current 
would  enter  and  leave  a  cast  iron  line. 

In  this  connection  it  is  important  to  empha- 
size the  wide  difference  between  electrolysis 
from  stray  electric  currents  of  appreciable 
voltage  and  galvanic  electrolysis,  it  being  the 
accepted  theory  that  the  latter  is  always 

96 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 

present  when  corrosion  takes  place  from  any 
cause  whatever. 

When  galvanic  electrolysis  takes  place  in 
steel  pipe  it  is  accelerated  by  the  rust  scales 
which  may  already  be  present  on  the  surface 
of  the  metal  or  those  which  may  be  formed 
later  thus  making  progressive  the  destruction 
of  the  entire  wall  thickness  of  the  pipe. 

Coating  for  Protection 

As  has  already  been  stated,  both  steel  and 
cast  iron  pipes  are  coated  with  a  protective 
preparation  to  keep  the  corrosive  elements 
of  the  water  from  attacking  the  metal.  This 
coating  is  applied  hot 
to  the  heated  metal. 
As  cast  iron  is  of  crys- 
talline structure,  the 
heating  expands  the 
molecules  of  the  metal 
so  that  the  hot  coating 
becomes  incorporated 
with  the  metal  itself,  to 
an  appreciable  distance 
from  the  surface,  while 
with  steel  (a  smooth,  fibrous  material)  the  coat- 
ing is  little  more  than  a  paint  which  will  not 
adhere  under  the  conditions  required  by  actual 


Burlap   and   Tar  Coated   Steel  Pipe. 

Coating  Melted   by   the   Sun  and 

Running  Off  in  Sheets. 


service. 


97 


PIPE   AND   THE   PUBLIC   WELFARE 


Fresh  claims  are  made  almost  yearly  by 
manufacturers  that  a  coating  has  at  last  been 
developed  that  will  adhere  to  steel  pipe,  but 
such  claims  have  not  as  yet  been  sub- 
stantiated. A  coating  may  appear  to  be  in 
good  condition,  but  in  reality  be  defective, 
and  the  steel  beneath  it  undergoing  progres- 
sive corrosion.  The  report  by  eminent  en- 
gineers employed  by  the  Australian  Govern- 


Mannesmann  (Steel)   Pipe,  Burlap  Covered,  Replaced  After  11   Months' 

Service.    Close  Alongside  is  a  Line  of  Cast  Iron  Pipe  in  Service  13  Years 

Without  Apparent  Defect. 

ment  to  examine  the  Coolgardie  Line  of  Steel 
Pipe  states": 

"It  has  been  found  that  the  coating  which 
appears  perfectly  satisfactory  to  the  naked 
eye  contains,  when  examined  with  a  magni- 
fying glass,  small  holes  due  to  minute  bubbles, 
which  penetrate  to  the  metal  beneath. 

"Examination  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
metal  has  decayed  below  the  coating,  having 
been  attacked  by  the  penetration  of  water 

98 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


through   one   of   these   minute   holes   in   the 
coating  to  the  metal  surface." 

That  coating  in  the  case  of  cast  iron  pipe 
is  less  necessary  to  its  life  than  in  the  case  of 


Another  View  of  Burlap-Covered  Mannesman!)  (Steel)  Pipe  Badly  Damaged 
by  Rust 

steel  pipe  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  cast 
iron  pipe  is  used  for  gas  without  any  coating 
and  such  pipe  has  been  in  use  for  many  years 
with  no  appreciable  evidence  of  deterioration. 
Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  the  user  of  steel  pipe 
pays  rather  for  a  coating  (and  not  a  durable 
one  at  that)  than  for  the  metal  itself.  This 
coating  is  absolutely  essential  to  steel,  but 
not  to  cast  iron. 

Engineer's  Estimate  of  Relative  Value 

Some  engineers  are  accustomed  to  assign 
that  additional  value  to  cast  iron  that  is 
measured  by  an  amount,  placed  at  com- 
pound interest,  that  will  reconstruct  the  steel 
line  at  the  end  of  its  assumed  life  of,  say,  30 
years.  That  such  computation  is  fallacious 
can  be  seen  at  a  glance  when  it  is  pointed  out 

99 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


that  the  cost  of  the  second  and  even  the  third 
replacement,  that  would  be  necessary  before 
the  end  of  the  useful  life  of  the  cast  iron  main, 
is  not  taken  into  consideration,  nor  the  factors 
of  high  cost  of  maintenance  and  repairs  to 
steel  pipe  and  the  salvage  value  of  cast  iron. 

At  Portland,  Maine,  about  14  miles  of 
42-inch  cast  iron  main  was  laid  in  1910  at  a 
cost  of  about  $90,000.00  in  excess  of  the 
proposals  offered  for  48-inch  lock  bar  steel. 
The  relative  value  of  the  two  types  of  pipe  w^as 
carefully  considered  by  eminent  engineers 
and  cast  iron  pipe  adopted  after  painstaking 
investigation.  The  larger  diameter  of  steel 
pipe  was  considered  by  reason  of  the  obstruc- 
tion of  flow  by  the  joints  and  the  resistance 
offered  by  the  longitudinal  bar  to  the  cork- 
screw motion  of  the  water  in  the  pipe.  Port- 
land has  had  no  cause  to  regret  its  decision. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  Public  Service 
Corporations  conduct  their  affairs  with  an 
eye  single  to  profit  and  good  business  pro- 
cedure. This  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
neither  of  the  two  largest  private  water 
companies  in  Connecticut,  those  of  New 
Haven  and  Bridgeport,  have  any  steel  mains 
in  their  systems,  and  at  Bridgeport  there 
has  recently  been  installed  a  48-inch  CAST 
IRON  MAIN  ten  miles  long. 

100 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


Comments  by  Eminent  Authorities 

PROFESSOR  J.  LAWRENCE  SMITH,  celebrated 
both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe  as  a  scholar 
on  many  subjects,  said  in  1875:— "My  opin- 
ion is  asked  in  relation  to  the  distribution  of 
water  in  the  service  of  a  large  city,  as  con- 
nected with  the  employment  pf  capt  iron  and 
wrought  iron  mains. \,  T&is  4s  a  subject  to 
which  I  have  paid  a  great  dB^J;6f*cl^se;ci,itical 
attention  having  had  occasion  to  do  so  in 
responding  to  the  demands  of  companies 
engaged  in  the  distribution  of  water  and  gas. 
I  have  examined  almost  every  variety  of  pipe 
used  for  these  purposes.  I  would  not  use 
wrought  iron  pipes,  however  low  the  cost, 
when  as  an  engineer  I  was  expected  to  con- 
struct permanent  water  works.  Even  with 
20  per  cent  difference  of  price  in  favor  of 
these  pipes  over  cast  iron,  the  extent  of  which 
they  are  used  is  comparatively  limited.  In 
conclusion,  I  would  say  that  in  my  opinion, 
when  water  is  to  be  distributed  in  a  large 
city,  and  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  or  more 
was  considered  but  a  small  part  of  the  life  of 
that  city,  nothing  but  cast  iron  mains  should 
be  laid  for  water. 

A.  W.  CRAVEN,  Consulting  Engineer,  for 
many  years  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Croton 

101 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


Aqueduct  Department,  New  York,  thus  ex- 
presses his  opinion:—  "In  cast  iron  you  are 
dealing  with  a  certainty.  Pipe  which  has 
been  in  constant  use  for  100  years,  and  un- 
protected by  any  coating,  either  of  its  interior 
or  exterior  surfaces,  has  been  examined  and 
to  no  appreciable  extent  was  there  any  dim- 
inution .irir  its  weight  .,or  strength.  I  do  not 
consider  it  true1  dcbnojiiy  to  use  any  known 
substitute  ita:<my~ portion  of  the  distribution 
of  a  town/' 

R.  RAWLINSON,  in  the  London  Sanitary 
Engineer  stated,  in  answer  to  a  question  as 
to  his  opinion  of  the  durability  of  cast  iron 
pipe:—  "My  answer  in  brief  is  that  I  do  not 
know,  although  I  have  an  experience  of  30 
years.  The  pipe  used  by  me  are  as  sound 
now  as  the  day  when  they  were  first  laid  down/ ' 

H.  V.  KETCHERSIDE,  Engineer  of  Water 
Works,  Long  Beach,  Cat.,  says: — -"I  have 
laid  hundreds  of  thousands  of  feet  of  riveted 
steel  pipe  of  all  kinds,  but  am  now  paying 
from  50  to  100  per  cent  more  for  cast  iron 
and  consider  it  cheaper." 

MR.  STARKE,  Engineer  of  Water  Works  at 
San  Bernardino,  Cat.,  after  an  unfortunate 
experience  with  steel  mains  at  the  place, 
says:—  "Our  Board  of  Water  Commissioners 
have  passed  an  order  that  all  future  replace- 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


ments  and  extensions  be  laid  of  cast  iron. 
In  1904  the  City  of  San  Bernardino  completed 
extension  of  water  system  of  sheet  steel  pipe, 
with  a  bond  issue  of  $231,000.00.  The  pipe 
was  furnished  and  specified  of  best  material 
and  dipped  in  the  best  manner  possible.  This 
pipe  began  to  pit  in  1908  and  shows  leaks  and 
is  continuing  to  deteriorate  so  rapidly  that 
portions  of  the  pipe  have  been  taken  out  in 
1.910  and  relaid  with  cast  iron  pipe.  Money 
spent  for  sheet  steel  water  mains  is  money 
thrown  away." 

JOHN  W.  HILL,  Consulting  Engineer  of 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  formerly  Engineer  of  the 
Filtration  System  of  Philadelphia,  says: — • 
'"The  chief  objection  to  steel  pipe  is  the  lack 
of  durability  of  the  materials  when  laid  in 
earth  filled  trenches,  subject  to  the  salts  in 
the  water  and  moisture  and  acids  in  the  soil. 
The  durability  of  cast  iron  pipes  is  so  thor- 
oughly proven,  and  so  well  known  to  Engineers 
and  Capitalists,  that  no  limit  is  placed  on  its 
life,  and  for  convenience  of  calculation  in  the 
appraisement  of  the  value  of  a  water  system, 
is  usually  taken  at  100  years;  although,  with 
such  pipe  now  in  the  ground  (at  Philadelphia 
and  elsewhere)  and  serviceable  after  100  years, 
it  is  clear  that  a  life  of  100  years  is  not  the 
correct  limit." 

103 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


PROFESSORS  NACHTEH  AND  ARNDT,  at 
Neckeroda: — "We  have  had  bad  experience 
with  protected  steel  pipes.  In  the  third  year, 
even  repairs  have  had  to  be  made,  which 
increased  from  year  to  year,  whilst  on  the 
other  hand  the  cast  iron  pipes  have  up  to  the 
present  developed  no  faults  whatever.  The 
municipality  intends  to  take  up  the  steel 
pipes  in  that  part  of  the  main  where  the  pres- 
sure is  highest,  and  intends  to  replace  these 
by  cast  iron  pipes." 

PROFESSOR  G.  MEISNER,  Paris: — "The  ad- 
vantages of  cast  iron  water  pipes  are  so  varied 
that  they  must  be  preferred  to  all  others. 
Cast  iron  mains  cost  rather  more  than  those 
of  sheet  steel,  but  their  life  is  incomparably 
longer." 

C.  A.  DE  FAUVAGE,  Civil  Engineer,  Haarlem: 
—"It  would  seem  to  me  that,  following  on  the 
experience  gained,  cast  iron  pipes  must  abso- 
lutely be  preferred  over  any  other  system, 
and  that  even  in  the  case  when  the  first  cost 
of  steel  pipe  is  much  lower  than  that  of  cast 
iron." 

M.  DUBOIS,  Havana: — "In  this  town,  all 
the  steel  pipe  with  asphaltum  coating  has 
had  to  be  taken  up.  The  bad  state  of  these 
mains  necessitated  repairs. almost  every  week." 

N.    S.    TANTE,    Antwerp:— "The    City    of 

104 


METAL   PIPE    DETERIORATION 


Antwerp  about  the  year  1892  made  use  of 
steel  pipe  tarred  and  covered  with  tape,  for 
the  high  pressure  (hydraulic)  piping  to  supply 
the  Armstrong  Machines  for  use  on  the  quays. 
In  March,  1908,  quite  a  number  of  cellars 
were  constantly  flooded.  The  Water  Com- 
pany tested  its  cast  iron  mains  half  a  dozen 
times  in  that  district,  being  threatened  with 
legal  proceedings.  The  end  of  it  was  that  it 
was  found  to  be  the  steel  piping  used  by  the 
town  for  the  hydraulic  machinery  of  the  port, 
which  was  in  a  pitiable  condition." 

BOARD    or    ALDERMEN,    Buffalo,    N.     Y. 
(Minutes  No.  22,  Page  1353.). 
No.  35.  Buffalo,  May  24,  1915. 

"The  undersigned  desire  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  your  Honorable  Board  to  that  section 
of  the  fire  pipe  line  system  in  Washington 
Street  from  Perry  to  Exchange  Streets,  which 
is  of  *wrought  iron  construction  and  was  laid 
in  the  year  1897.  The  condition  of  this 
section  by  corrosion  is  such  that  it  not  only 
requires  constant  repairs,  but  a  serious  break 
is  likely  to  occur  at  any  time,  which  if  it  did 
so,  under  the  present  arrangement  of  the 
system  would  place  the  entire  line  out  of 
commission. 

*  The  "wrought  iron"  line  referred  to  was  really  of  steel. 

105 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


"The  importance  of  providing  against  such 
an  accident  is  most  apparent  for  the  reason 
that  the  efficiency  of  this  pipe  line  system 
in  arresting  great  conflagrations  in  the  bus- 
iness and  mercantile  sections  of  the  city  has 
been  demonstrated  time  and  time  again 
and  we  therefore  respectfully  urge  the  laying 
of  a  section  of  cast  iron  pipe,  12  inches  in 
diameter,  in  Main  Street  from  the  connection 
at  Perry  and  Main  Streets,  to  Exchange 
Street,  and  to  connect  with  the  present  line 
at  that  point.  If  this  is  done  it  will  not  only 
assure  two  ways  of  delivering  water  to  any 
point  along  the  entire  length  of  the  system, 
but  may  be  the  means  of  saving  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  worth  of  property,  within  the 
radius  of  the  fire  lines. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

SIMON  SIEBERT, 
E.  C.  BURGARD, 
WM.  PERSON, 
Fire  Comm ission ers . ' ' 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Fire. 

(NOTE: — The  Committee  on  Fire  made  a 
report  recommending  the  replacement  of  the 
above  section  of  pipe  with  cast  iron  pipe.) 

J.  H.  BROWN,  Manager  Eastern  Gas  Ap- 
pliance Co.,  New  York,  (Formerly  Water 

106 


METAL    PIPE    DETERIORATION 


Works  Construction  Engineer  in  the  Middle 
West),  says: — "The  specifications  for  East 
Chicago  Water  Works  and  also  for  the  city 
of  Hammond,  Ind.,  called  for  steel  and 
*kalamein  pipe.  I  tried  in  every  way  to 
convince  the  City  Councils  and  to  have  them 
change  the  specifications  to  cast  iron  pipe,  but 
was  unsuccessful.  However,  before  the  steel 
pipe  had  been  in  the  ground  one  year  their 
troubles  commenced,  and  they  put  questions 
to  me  asking  what  should  be  done.  The  third 
year  the  city  of  East  Chicago  gave  me  a 
contract  for  $40,000.00  to  replace  the  steel 
pipe,  which  I  did,  and  also  for  the  city  of 
Hammond  a  little  later. 

'The  trouble  in  these  cases  was  the  great 
amount  of  alkali  in  the  soil  of  that  section, 
and  I  had  the  same  trouble  in  Newton, 
Kansas,  where  I  put  in  steel  pipe  and  the 
city  had  to  replace  all  of  it  inside  of  three 
years.  This  city  was  short  of  money  and 
tried  to  economize  by  using  steel  pipe,  but 
it  turned  out  to  be  very  dear  in  the  end,  as 
it  will  for  any  one  who  uses  steel  pipe  instead 
of  cast  iron.  Before  the  second  year  was 
ended  they  were  obliged  to  keep  men  working 
all  the  time  on  nothing  else  but  repairing 
leaks  and  broken  pipe. 

*  Kalaineiu  is  an  alloy  coated  steel  pipe. 

107 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


"From  the  many  years  experience  I  have 
had  in  building  water  plants  I  would  cer- 
tainly not  use  steel  or  kalamein  pipe  were  it 
to  be  delivered  on  the  ground  free  of  charge, 
and  anyone  who  uses  such  pipe  is  burying 
trouble  that  will  have  to  be  dug  up  in  a 
comparatively  few  years." 

JOHN  J.  HAYES,  Superintendent  Water 
Works  and  Sewers,  Rapid  City,  South  Dakota, 
says: — "Our  distribution  system  was  mostly 
Kalamein  laid  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
years.  Practically  all  of  the  old  pipe  has  been 
replaced  with  cast  iron,  Class  C,  and  as  fast 
as  funds  are  available  I  am  taking  it  out  and 
laying  cast  iron. 

"As  long  as  the  coating  is  perfect  it  is  all 
right  but  as  soon  as  coating  or  paint  is  gone 
it  rusts  through  in  a  short  time.  I  place  the 
extreme  usefulness  of  it  at  twenty  years, 
while  cast  iron  pipe  lasts  in  our  soil  an  in- 
definite period.  Cast  iron  pipe  laid  23  years 
ago  is  as  good  to-day  as  when  laid. 

"It  is  false  economy  to  install  anything  but 
cast  iron  pipe  in  a  water  main  system." 

J.  H.  RADFORD,  Chairman  Water  Com- 
mission, Gait,  Ontario,  says: — "We  have  had 
installed  about  one  mile  of  steel  main  which 
is  very  unsatisfactory  and  we  would  not 
recommend  putting  down  steel  pipe  any  place, 

108 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


particularly  where  you  intend  to  tap,  as 
from  our  experience  we  find  that  it  is  an 
impossibility  to  tap  successfully  even  with  a 
saddle  and  prevent  leaking  at  a  very  early 
date. 

"Steel  main  might  be  used  as  a  conduit  or 
conductor  pipe  if  properly  laid  and  thor- 
oughly calked  but  under  any  circumstances 
we  consider  it  inferior  to  iron  pipe." 

J.  W.  TURNER,  Superintendent  Water  Works 
Department,  Edmonton,  Alberta,  Canada,  says: 

"During  1913  this  Department  installed 
some  twenty-three  (23)  miles  of  6",  8", 
and  10"  steel  mains.  The  result  of  the  past 
two  years'  experience  with  these  steel  mains 
and  connecting  house  services  thereto,  has 
convinced  me  that  it  is  desirable  to  confine 
the  use  of  steel  to  the  larger  size  mains,  and 
for  the  smaller  mains  from  which  house 
connections  are  made,  to  use  cast  iron.  Dur- 
ing 1914  we  installed  a  considerable  amount  of 
steel  pipe  ranging  from  14  to  30-inch  diameter, 
as  feed  mains.  Where  the  wrapping  and 
the  coating  of  the  steel  pipe  is  kept  intact, 
and  recoated  at  any  points  where  damaged 
before  laying  of  pipe,  I  feel  confident  that 
this  class  of  pipe  will  give  satisfactory  service. 
On  the  other  hand,  with  regard  to  the  sizes 
under  12-inch,  into  which  house  connections 

109 


PIPE  AND  THE   PUBLIC  WELFARE 


are  tapped,  it  becomes  necessary  to  fit  special 
saddles  or  clarnps  and  to  cut  the  wrapping 
for  every  service  connection  that  is  made. 
As  the  shell  of  the  smaller  sizes  of  steel  pipe 
is  so  extremely  thin  a  main-cock  cannot 
with  safety  be  tapped  direct  into  the  pipe. 

Another  important  point  in  connection 
with  these  steel  mains  is  that  the  money  for 
water-main  construction  is  usually  raised  by 
municipal  debentures  for  periods  of  thirty  or 
forty  years,  and  while  I  am  satisfied  that 
cast  iron  pipe  will  last  for  that  period,  the 
question  of  the  lifetime  of  steel  mains  is 
still  an  open  one." 

WILLIAM  W.  BRUSH.  Assistant  Engineer 
Bureau  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity, 
New  York  (Transactions  Am.  Soc.,  C.  E., 
Vol.  LXXVIII,  p.  865,  1915):— "An  exam- 
ination, made  about  a  year  ago,  of  a  length  of 
48-inch  pipe  which  was  laid  in  18(>7  in  Central 
Park,  near  the  large  reservoir,  in  ground 
that  was  low-lying  and  wet  a  good  part  of  the 
year,  showed  the  outside  coating  to  be  prac- 
tically perfect.  The  general  condition  of  the 
entire  pipe  system  of  New  York  City  is  such 
that  the  outside  of  the  pipe  generally  shows 
no  corrosion  that  would  affect  its  life. 

:<The  interior  of  the  pipe  shows  very 
materially  the  difference  in  effect  of  waters 

110 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


Section  of  Cast  Iron  Water  Pipe  in 
Philadelphia  98  Years  Old 


supplied  to  the  different  boroughs  of  New 
York  City.  Croton  water  has  such  slight 
corrosive  effect  on  cast- 
iron  pipe  that  sections 
of  mains  laid  shortly 
after  this  water  supply 
was  introduced,  in  the 
early  Forties,  or  in  use 
some  sixty  years,  show 
practically  no  corro-  . 
sion.  Therefore,  there 
has  been  no  necessity 
for  cleaning  these 
mains;  whereas  in 
Brooklyn,  wiiere  the 
water  has  a  comparatively  high  chlorine 
content,  varying  during  the  past  fifty  years 
from  a  maximum  of  about  twenty -five  parts 
per  million  to  a  minimum  of  about  eight 
parts,  with  an  average  for  the  past  twenty 
years  of  possibly  fifteen  parts  per  million, 
there  is  a  corrosive  or  tuberculating  effect, 
especially  on  pipe  laid  uncoated.  The  pipe 
laid  in  1858  was  mainly  Scotch  pipe,  in  9-feet 
lengths,  and  was  uncoated.  There  was  also 
some  pipe  cast  in  the  United  States  at  about 
that  time  and  laid  uncoated.  Such  pipe 
required  cleaning,  as  the  tubercles  in  a  6-inch 
pipe  were  of  such  size  that  a  2-inch  rod  could 

111 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


not  be  passed  through  the  pipe  without 
breaking  off  some  of  them.  That  pipe,  when 
cleaned,  was  good,  apparently,  for  another 
fifty  years,  as  far  as  the  strength  of  the  wall 
limited  the  life." 

MESSRS.  MONTEATH  BROS.,  of  Subiaco,  in 
a  letter  to  The  Western  Australia  Mining, 
Building  and  Engineering  Journal,  of  Decem- 
ber 15,  1915,  after  reciting  a  number  of 
failures  of  wrought  iron  and  steel  pipe,  say: 

"As  against  these  steel  and  wrought  iron 
failures,  there  is  not  a  single  known  case  of  a 
failure  in  cast  iron,  except  in  one  or  two 
isolated  cases,  where  the  ground  was  such 
that  possibly  no  material  would  have  a  long 
life.  The  life  of  cast  iron  mains  is  known  to 
be  over  one  hundred  years,  as  the  following 
cases  will  show: — (1)  Versailles,  249  years; 
(2)  Weilburg,  210  years;  (3)  Claremont- 
Ferrand,  165  years;  (4)  Glasgow,  over  100 
years;  and  the  Vehar  mains,  in  Bombay, 
after  55  years'  service,  are  now  being  lifted 
and  relaid  within  the  city. 

''The  foregoing  remarks  require  no  com- 
ment as  to  which  material  should  be  adopted 
by  corporate  bodies  and  others  if  they  will 
take  the  trouble  to  study  the  question  care- 
fully on  facts  and  have  the  interests  of  the 
community  at  heart." 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


In  this  same  letter  is  also  quoted  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  Indian  Engineering  of 
August23,  1913: 

"Cast  Iron  versus  Steel  Pipes." 

"At  the  present  time  some  water,  gas  and 
sewerage  works  engineers  are  being  tempted 
to  put  down  steel  pipes  instead  of  cast  iron, 
owing  to  the  saving  in  capital  expenditure, 
without  thoroughly  looking  into  and  com- 
paring the  risks  attached  to  steel,  and  the 
ultimate  cost  of  same.  It  is  most  important 
that  members  of  corporate  bodies  who  have 
the  settling  of  these  matters  should  have 
before  them  all  the  facts  obtainable  before 
arriving  at  a  decision  as  to  wrhich  material 
to  adopt. 

"Owing  to  the  thinness  of  the  steel  pipes, 
and  the  liability  of  corrosion,  the  life  of  a 
steel  main  is  entirely  dependent  upon  its 
protective  covering,  and  as  corrosion  takes 
place  most  rapidly  where  the  steel  main  rests 
upon  the  ground,  and  where  it  is  practically 
impossible  to  re-coat  the  pipe,  it  is  perfectly 
plain  to  anyone  that  if  corrosion  once  com- 
menced nothing  can  stop  it.  Engineers  who 
have  had  experience  with  steel  mains  are 
mostly  agreed  that  its  use  is  limited  to: 

1.  Very  high  pressure; 

2.  Temporary  purposes; 

113 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


3.  Physical  impossibility  to  put  down  cast 

iron; 

4.  Inability   to   raise    sufficient   money   to 

pay  initial  cost  of  cast  iron." 
"Le  Tuyau  en  Acier  Compare  en  Fonte:" 
A  French  article  under  date  of  July   10th, 
1911,  is  quoted  in  part  as  follows: 

'The  underground  conduits  for  water  and 
for  gas  are  generally  made  of  cast  iron,  and 
the  use  of  that  metal  is  justified  principally 
because  of  their  long  life  and  good  preser- 
vation, some  conduits  having  been  placed 
under  ground  since  the  17th  Century  are  still 
in  good  condition.  In  the  meanwhile  frequent 
attempts  have  been  made  by  different  in- 
ventors to  replace  cast  iron  by  some  other 
metal,  and  steel  in  particular  has  been,  under 
different  forms,  the  principal  rival  of  cast 
iron  pipe. 

"At  first  sight,  its  lightness  may  mislead, 
especially  in  case  of  shipping  to  distant 
countries  without  means  of  up-to-date  trans- 
portation facilities.  But  the  resulting  danger 
by  the  use  of  steel  or  wrought  iron  under- 
ground piping  is  the  great  facility  with  which 
these  metals  are  attacked  by  rust;  there- 
fore, both  manufacturers  and  inventors  had 
to  find  some  protecting  devices  to  protect 
the  metal  from  oxidation  to  permit  steel  to 

114 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


rival  cast  iron  from  the  standpoint  of  con- 
servation. It  is  thus  one  saw  in  1860 
steel  pipes  coated  with  a  thick  asphalt  covering 
put  on  hot.  This  was  the  pipe  ("  Chameroy  ") . 
More  recently  the  asphalt  has  been  replaced 
by  a  jute  coating.  But, 
does  not  the  need  of  in- 
vestigation and  the  use  of 
a  protecting  covering  show 
better  than  anything  else 
the  lack  of  confidence  steel 
pipe  promoters  have  re- 
garding the  value  of  the 
metal  for  underground 
conduits  use? 

"Conclusions.  --  By 
what  we  have  seen  above, 
the  cast  iron  pipes  have 
to  their  credit  a  very  long 
record,  which  has  made  to-day  their  quality 
universally  recognized. 

"The  wrought  iron  and  steel  pipes,  on  the 
contrary,  cannot  produce  an  example  of  any 
long  duration.  Several  installations  can  be 
cited  wrhere  steel  and  \\Tought  iron  pipes  had, 
due  to  deterioration  and  rust,  to  be  replaced 
by  cast  iron  ones.  No  example  can  be  cited 
regarding  cast  iron  mains  failing,  due  to  this 
same  cause. 

115 


Replacing   Wrought   Iron    Pipe 
with  Cast  Iron  Flanged  Pipe 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


"In  all  instances  where  cast  iron  pipes  in 
service  for  several  years  had  to  be  withdrawn 
due  to  modifications  or  abandoning  of  the 
mains,  they  have  been  used  again  at  other 
places. 

"The  prospect  of  having  of  necessity  to 
replace  a  conduit  in  a  shorter  or  longer  time, 
varying  with  the  condition  of  the  soil,  does 
not  give  any  choice  as  to  the  kind  of  pipe  to 
be  used  to  obtain  the  longest  service  with 
least  up  -  keep  expenses.  All  practical  men 
will  choose  the  cast  iron  pipe. 

"The  municipal  administrations,  who  in  a 
majority  of  cases  cannot  afford  the  laying 
down  of  new  mains  for  their  water  and  gas 
service  every  ten  years,  will  do  well  to  select 
cast  iron  pipes,  well  known  and  tried,  of  which 
no  one  up  to  this  day  has  been  able  to  fix  the 
exact  limit  of  durability.  They  will  thus 
fulfill  their  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  the 
taxpayers." 

The  American  Gas  Light  Journal  in  an 
article  in  a  recent  issue,  under  the  head  of 
"External  Corrosion  of  Cast  Iron  Pipes," 
gives  some  conclusions  that  have  been  arrived 
at  after  a  comprehensive  study  of  the  subject 
-They  are: 

"  (1)  Under  ordinary  conditions  of  soil, 
cast  iron  pipe  has  a  probable  life  of  from  one 

116 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


to  three  centuries,  so  far  as  external  corrosion 
is  concerned.  (2)  Under  certain  soil  con- 
ditions, such  as  salt  marshes  or  saline  soils, 
cast  iron  pipe  may  be  rendered  useless  in  from 
seven  to  twenty  years.  (3)  At  times  cinder 
and  slag  fills  may  exert  a  strongly  deleterious 
influence.  Acid  mine  waters  are  also 
destructive.  (4)  Substituting  wrought  iron 
or  steel  pipe  for  cast  iron  is  ineffectual. 
Cast  iron  will  outlast  the  others.  Remedies 
fall  under  four  heads: 

(a)  Increasing  the  skin  resistance  of  cast 
iron. 

(b)  Utilizing    the    protective    influence    of 
alkalies  by  surrounding  the  pipe  with  lime  or 
cement  where  practicable. 

(c)  Exclusion  of  acids,  salt  or  air. 

(d)  Galvanizing   the   cast   iron   pipe,    thus 
protecting  it  at  the  expense  of  the  zinc. 

"So  much  has  been  written  upon  this  sub- 
ject of  the  corrosion  of  pipes,  most  of  all  of  the 
comparative  corrodibility  of  cast  iron,  wrought 
iron  and  steel,  that  the  ordinary  mind  has 
been  thrown  into  some  confusion  on  the  sub- 
ject. We  think  it  is  time,  therefore,  we  had 
something  authoritative  from  a  committee 
of  metallurgists  that  might  guide  us  to  use 
the  right  metal  in  the  right  place,  quite  apart 
from  a  discussion  of  cures  for  corrosion." 

117 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


C.  M.  SAVILLE,  Chief  Engineer  of  Board 
of  Water  Commissioners,  Hartford,  Conn., 
several  years  ago  made  a  report  on  "The 
Use  of  Cast  Iron  Pipe  for  Nepang  Conduit, 
which  is  so  comprehensive  and  exhaustive 
that  it  is  quoted  in  full  as  follows: 

Hartford,  Conn. 

April  23rd,  1913. 
Files  86  and  87. 

To    the    Honorable    Board    of    Water    Com- 
missioners, City  Hall. 

GENTLEMEN: — In  the  matter  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  proposed  pipe  line  for  con- 
veying the  water  from  the  Nepang  Reservoir 
to  the  present  source  of  supply  at  West 
Hartford,  two  kinds  of  material  may  be  given 
final  consideration — Steel  Plate  and  Cast  Iron. 
Both  kinds  of  pipe  are  used  on  work  similar 
to  that  proposed  here  and  the  following  facts 
are  presented  for  your  information  relating 
to  carrying  capacity,  durability,  leakage, 
strength  and  reliability,  first  cost  and  cost  of 
maintenance. 

Carrying  Capacity: 

The  fundamental  formula  for  the  flow  of 
water  in  long  pipes  is  expressed  by  the 
equation  V-CV-RS  in  which: 

V  =  the  velocity  in  feet  per  second. 
118 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


R  =  the  hydraulic  mean  radius  of  the  pipe — 
diameter  in  the  case  of  circular  pipes  running 
full  or  half  round. 

S  =  the  sine  of  the  angle  of  slope. 

C  =  a  co-efficient  varying  with  the  different 
conditions  under  which  flow  takes  place. 

The  difference  in  carrying  capacity  is  due 
principally  to  the  presence  of  obstructions 
on  the  interior  wall,  such  as  faulty  joints, 
rivetheads,  etc.,  which  project  into  the  water- 
way. Cast  iron  pipes  are  particularly  free 
from  obstructions  of  this  kind, — the  interior 
of  the  separate  pipes  is  smooth  and  if  well 
laid  the  joints  offer  little  or  no  resistance  to 
flow.  In  lock -bar  pipes  there  is  the  lapping 
of  the  plates  and  rows  of  rivet  heads  each 
30  feet  at  the  circumferential  joints  and  the 
obstruction  of  the  lock -bar  in  two  places  in 
the  circumference  reaching  the  entire  length 
of  the  section.  In  riveted  steel  pipes  there  are 
similar  circumferential  joints,  1%  feet  apart 
and  there  is  a  single  longitudinal  joint  with 
two  rows  of  rivets  along  the  entire  length. 

The  values  of  "  C  "  given  below  are  believed 
to  be  representative  of  the  best  practice 
among  hydraulic  engineers  and  to  conform 
to  the  results  obtained  from  scientific  in- 
vestigation of  the  phenomena  relating  to  the 
flow  of  water  in  pipes. 

119 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


New 

30  Years 

New 

30  Years 

140 

95 

100 

100 

130 

92 

93 

97 

108 

82 

77 

86 

Co-efficient  ' '(7:"-  —Percentage  of  discharge 
same  size  pipe.  Comparison  in  each  case 
being  made  with  cast  iron  pipe: 

t 

Cast  Iron 

Lock-Bar 

Riveted  Steel 

The  30  -  year  period  seems  of  particular 
interest  as  that  appears  to  be  near  the  critical 
time  in  durability  of  steel  pipes.  Under  the 
conditions  indicated  in  the  table  of  co- 
efficients above,  it  appears  that  equal  capac- 
ities may  be  expected  from  42-inch  cast  iron, 
43-inch  lock-bar  and  44-inch  riveted  steel 
pipe.  Based  on  these  figures,  it  appears  also 
that  lock-bar  pipe  and  riveted  steel,  when 
compared  under  similar  conditions  with  cast 
iron,  will  have  respectively  7%  and  23%  less 
carrying  capacity  on  the  Nepang  Pipe  Line, 
with  comparatively  straight  stretch  of  pipe 
and  without  the  obstruction  of  sharp  bends, 
valves  and  other  impediments,  it  seems 
certain  that  for  the  same  diameters  cast  iron 
pipe  will  prove  of  the  greatest  capacity, 
both  when  new  and  after  a  lapse  of  years. 

Durability: — The  comparative  life  of  steel 
and  cast  iron  pipe  is  taken  by  various  author- 
ities as  30  to  35  years  for  the  former  and  from 
70  to  90  years  for  the  latter  material.  The  use 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


of  cast  iron  for  water  pipe  is  well  known  and 
its  practical  indestructibility  is  without  ques- 
tion. Only  recently  the 
writer  examined  a 
piece  of  Clinch  cast  iron 
pipe  dug  in  Front  Street 
and  found  it  perfect  as 
far  as  the  metal  was 
concerned.  I  am  told 
that  this  pipe  was  part 
of  the  old  system  laid  Tbree  Lines  of  60.Inch  Cast  Iron  Pipe 
in  1871  and  that  this 

was  in  service  up  to  within  a  few  years  ago. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  make  detailed  statements 
regarding  this  metal  further  than  to  state 
that  the  writer  has  personal  knowledge  of 
20  and  30-inch  cast  iron  pipes  removed  in 
Boston  which  were  laid  in  1850  and  when 
taken  up  in  1900  the  pipe  was  in  good  con- 
dition. It  is  of  record  that  there  are  at  least 
several  instances  of  cast  iron  pipe  being  in 
good  condition  after  over  100  years  of  service. 
Steel  pipes  are  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 
The  use  of  soft  iron  (wrot.)  for  the  manu- 
facture of  boilers  was  generally  employed  for 
this  purpose  for  some  time  previous  to  the 
use  of  steel,  and  there  are  many  pipes  in  use 
to-day  made  of  this  material.  On  account 
of  its  composition,  wrought  iron  is  much 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


more  resistant  to  corrosion  than  steel.  Its 
use  is,  however,  limited  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  in  obtaining  this  material  at  the 
present  time.  Within  the  past  20  years, 
long  lines  of  steel  pipes  have  been  installed 
in  many  places  among  wilich  may  be 
mentioned : 

Year       Diameter      Thickness 

East  Jersey  Water  Co.  1891  48" 

Rochester,  N.  Y 1893  38" 

Cambridge,  Mass 1895  40" 

New  Bedford,  Mass.  .  .  1896  48" 

East  Jersey  Water  Co.  1896  42" 

Adelaide,  Australia. .  .  .  1903  15-26" 

Coolgardie,       "       ....  1903  30" 

Newark,  N.  J 1903  60" 

Springfield,  Mass 1909  42" 


In  Feet        Kind 
115,000  Riveted 
140,000         " 

24,000         " 

42,000         " 

89,700         " 

63,472  Lock-Bar 
848,000         " 

39,300  Riveted 

7 1,000  Lock-Bar 


At  present  lock-bar  steel  pipe  lines  of  large 
size  are  being  placed  at  Akron,  Ohio,  and  at 
Winnipeg,  Man.,  and  recently  pipes  of  large 
diameter  of  this  material  have  been  con- 
structed for  the  New  York  additional  supply 
and  at  Johnstown,  Pa.  Cast  iron  is  much 
less  susceptible  than  steel  to  electrolytic 
action  or  to  corrosion  from  acids  in  clay  and 
peaty  solids.  The  following  abstracts  re- 
garding durability  of  steel  pipe  are  taken 
from  various  reports : 

Rochester,    N.    Y.,    Pipe   Laid   in    1893- 
"The    second    conduit    consists    of    38-inch 
steel  riveted  pipe  varying  in  thickness  from 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


one-half  to  three-eighths  inch.  This  was 
laid  16  years  ago  and  we  have  had  considerable 
trouble  with  pitting  on  this  conduit.  For 
the  past  8  years  we  have  each  summer 
uncovered  varying  lengths  and  carefully 
scraped  the  old  coating  off  and  repainted  the 
pipe  with  coats  of  mineral  rubber  and  two 
coats  of  graphite  paint.  On  the  sections  thus 
recoated  we  have  had  no  further  leaks,  and 
the  pitting  has  not  advanced  appreciably. 
The  probability  is  that  the  entire  length  of 
this  steel  pipe  will  eventually  have  to  be  thus 
treated." 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  Pipe  Laid  in  1895.— 
"During  the  month  of  March  last,  a  leak 
occurred  in  this  line  near  Appleton  Street  and 
upon  digging  down  we 
found  a  hole  about  five- 
eighths  inch  in  diameter 
through  the  pipe  and  pit- 
tings  around  the  hole 
seemed  to  indicate  elec- 
trolysis. A  further  exam- 
ination showed  that  the 
pipe  was  in  such  condition 
that  a  thorough  examina- 
tion was  desirable  and 
consequently  about  400 
feet  were  uncovered;  in 

123 


Cast  Iron   Pipe   for   Conducting 
Sulphurous  Fumes 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 

this  length  more  than  400  pittings  were  found. 
In  addition  to  the  section  near  Appleton 
Street  another  section  between  Payer- 
weather  Street  and  Lake  View  Avenue  de- 
veloped these  leaks,  and  examination  showed 
it  to  be  in  bad  condition;  in  some  respects 
worse,  if  possible,  than  the  portion  near 
Appleton  Street  (Annual  Report  of  Cam- 
bridge Water  Board,  1904,  P.  51.) 

Newark,  N.  J.,  Pipe  Laid  in  1890  and  1891. 

"Upon  investigation  it  was  found  that  the 
48-inch  steel  pipe  conduit  No.  1  was  badly 
corroded  at  a  point  on  the  outside. — In- 
vestigation was  carried  still  further  to  ascer- 
tain what  condition  the  two  lines  were  in. 
Nos.  1  and  2  were  uncovered  for  a  distance  of 
700  and  400  feet  respectively  south  of  said 
streets,  and  line  No.  1  was  found  to  be 
affected  by  corrosion  on  the  outside  in  many 
places,  in  most  cases  from  one-half  to  three- 
fourths  of  its  full  thickness."  (Report,  Street 
and  Water  Commissioners,  Newark,  N.  J., 
1909,  P.  68.) 

Port  Elizabeth,  South  Africa.—  •"  A  long 
debate  on  the  water  works  took  place  to-day 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Port  Elizabeth  Town 
Council,  when  it  wras  stated  that  seven  million 
gallons  of  water  were  being  lost  monthly 
between  the  water  works  and  the  town,  owing 

124 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


to  a  leakage  in  pipes.  When  the  new  water 
works  were  constructed  some  seven  years 
ago,  the  town  saved  many  thousand  pounds 
in  the  cost  of  transport  by  laying  down  steel 
mains  instead  of  cast  iron.  Washouts  about 
a  year  ago  revealed  that  this  pipe  was  not 
wearing  at  all  well;  in  fact,  at  several  points 
was  discovered  to  be  completely  rusted 
through.  The  defective  pipes  were  replaced, 
but  now  it  transpires  that  practically  the 
whole  main,  over  25  miles  long,  is  affected 
and  will  have  to  be  replaced.  The  council 
decided  to  delay  action  pending  a  detailed 
inspection  of  the  main  by  the  Board  of 
Works."  (Engineering  News,  April  3rd,  1913, 
P.  651.) 

Coolgardie,  Australia,  Steel  Line.—  "Pipe 
installed  in  1903;  30-inch  diameter,  one-fourth 
to  five-sixteenths  inch  plate,  lock-bar  steel 
350  miles  long;  care  taken  to  remove  mill 
scale,  using  steel  wire  brush;  tested  400 
pounds  pressure;  coated  with  a  mixture  of 
coal-tar  and  Trinidad  Asphaltum.  External 
corrosion  noted  2J/2  years  after  laying,  the 
worse  places  being  in  low  wet  clayey  places. 
Internal  corrosion — pitting  under  tubercles- 
appears  to  be  a  critical  depth  of  one-eighth 
inch.  The  corrosion  is  fairly  conclusive  that 
ultimate  failure,  if  corrosion  be  not  stopped, 

125 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


will  result  from  internal  not  external  cor- 
rosion. External  corrosion  is  localized  and 
can  be  repaired  without  stopping  of  flow7." 
(Abstracted  from  Engineering  News,  August 
24th,  1911,  P.  22.) 

New  Bedford,  Mass.,  48-Inch  Steel  Pipe 
Line  Laid  in  1896,  5-16-inch  Thick.— "In 
the  section  under  consideration  they  (the 
tubercles)  range  from  3  to  70  per  square  foot 
with  very  few  sheets  showing  the  largest 
numbers — beneath  the  tubercles  are  pittings 
many  of  which  range  from  75  to  90  thou- 
sandths (0.075  to  0.090)  of  an  inch  in  depth. 
The  thickness  of  the  steel  sheets  is  about  five- 
sixteenths  of  an  inch,  or  312  thousandths, 
so  it  will  be  seen  that  some  of  these  pittings 
approach  one-third  the  thickness  of  the  steel." 
(Report  of  the  New  Bedford  Water  Com- 
missioners, 1903,  P.  26.) 

'"The  tubercles  appear  to  have  somewhat 
increased  in  number.  Found  one  pitting 
0.117  inch  in  depth  and  perhaps  four  others 
ranging  between  that  depth  and  0.100.  Several 
others  were  found  ranging  from  0.085  to 
0.095  inch."  (Report  of  the  New  Bedford 
Water  Commissioners,  1909,  P.  33.) 

The  Water  District  of  Portland,  Maine, 
after  an  exhaustive  investigation  decided  to 
adopt  42-inch  cast  iron  pipe  instead  of  48- 

126 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


inch  steel  pipe  for  their  conduit  in  spite  of 
an  increased  cost  of  15  per  cent  and  the 
much  smaller  capacity  of  the  cast  iron  pipe. 
Summarizing  the  deteriora- 
tions of  steel  pipe  in  several 
cities  in  the  United  States, 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  does  not 
specially  state  the  cause,  but 
from  the  description  it  may 
be  inferred  that  the  pittings 
were  perhaps  due  to  "mill 
scale"  or  other  local  happen- 
ings. In  the  case  of  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  and  Newark, 
N.  J.,  electrolysis  seems  to  be 
held  to  be  the  cause.  In 
these  cities  there  is  no  state- 
ment as  to  the  condition  of 
the  inside  of  the  pipes,  the 
external  damage  only  being 
noted.  In  the  case  of  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  the  interior 
only  was  examined  and  the 
pittings  due  to  tubercle  were 
in  many  cases  one-third  the 
thickness  of  the  pipe,  in  twelve 
years.  The  outside  of  the  pipe  was  not  ex- 
amined. 

There  is  no  reason  why  these  two  causes  of 


Cast  Iron  Pipe  100  Years 

Old,  From  Godesberg, 

Germany 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


deterioration,  electrolysis  on  the  outside  and 
tubercles  on  the  inside,  may  not  act  simul- 
taneously. On  account  of  its  greater  con- 
ductivity, electrolysis  action  is  much  more 
rapid  on  steel  than  on  cast  iron  pipes.  For 
steel  and  cast  iron  pipes  laid  under  similar 
conditions  of  pressure,  the  cast  iron  walls 
would  be  from  three  to  four  times  thicker 
than  those  of  steel  and  so  in  addition  to 
composition  afford  a  much  longer  period 
of  resistance  to  serious  danger  from  corro- 
sion. 

Leakage. — It  is  probable  that  at  first  the 
leakage  for  steel  pipe  wTould  be  less  than  for 
cast  iron  pipes  as  the  joints  are  double 
caulked  inside  and  outside  and  the  caulking 
is  not  affected  by  settlement.  The  field  joints 
of  the  lock-bar  type  are  less  advantageous 
than  those  of  riveted  steel  pipe,  because  of 
the  crimp  required  around  four  bars  instead 
of  two  thin  plates.  As  time  goes  on,  however, 
it  is  probable  that  the  leakage  in  the  cast 
iron  pipe,  due  to  silting  up,  may  grow  less, 
while  that  in  steel  pipe  owing  to  the  pittings, 
may  increase.  So  far  as  leakage  is  concerned 
there  seems  to  be  little  advantage  in  either 
pipe  as  regards  amount  of  water  which  may 
be  lost.  As  for  repairs,  the  cast  iron  pipe  is 
much  more  easily  and  quickly  cared  for 

128 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


because  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  caulk  up 
the  joints  while  with  the  steel  pipe,  if  due  to 
corrosion,  it  is  rather  an  expensive  matter 
to  uncover  a  section  and  put  on  rubber  patches 
held  down  by  steel  bands  passing  around  the 
pipe. 

Strength  and  Reliability. — Steel  is  stronger 
than  cast  iron,  and  on  account  of  its  being  mal- 
leable, a  steel  pipe  is  thought  of  by  some 
people  to  possess  greater  reliability  because 
it  can  more  readily  adapt  itself  to  settle- 
ment of  trenches  and  in  length  due  to  tem- 
perature. Experience,  however,  is  a  good 
teacher,  and  that  which  has  been  had  with 
cast  iron  pipes,  even  of  large  diameters  if  of 
proper  thickness  and  well  laid  has  been  very 
satisfactory.  In  the  large  cities  cast  iron 
pipe,  of  36-inch  diameter  and  over,  has  been 
in  use  in  the  Water  Works  System  for  over 
50  years.  The  Metropolitan  Water  Works 
of  Massachusetts  from  1895  to  1912  had 
constructed  or  acquired  nearly  102  miles  of 
cast  iron  pipe,  about  42  miles  of  which  is  42 
inches  in  diameter  or  larger.  There  have  been 
comparatively  few  breaks  on  this  system,  and 
the  experience  of  the  City  of  Hartford  with 
about  six  miles  of  30 -inch  main  in  which  only 
one  serious  break  has  occurred  in  one  year 
must  certainly  be  considered  convincing. 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


On  the  other  hand  a  break  in  a  cast  iron  pipe 
may  result  in  a  section  of  the  pipe  being  blown 
out  and  a  large  hole  made  from  which  a 
considerable  amount  of  water  may  escape  in 
a  short  time.  With  steel  pipe  the  breaks 
when  they  occur  usually  result  in  compara- 
tively small  openings,  although  several  cases 
are  on  record  where  the  hole  torn  in  the  steel 
pipe  was  of  large  size. 

First  Cost  and  Cost  of  Maintenance. — At  a 
diameter  of  36  inches  the  cost  of  steel  and 
cast  iron  pipes  is  about  the  same;  for  smaller 
diameters  the  cost  of  cast  iron  increases 
much  more  rapidly  than  that  of  steel.  Local 
conditions  may  largely  govern  the  choice 
of  pipe,  but  for  supply  mains  it  appears 
generally  good  practice  to  use  cast  iron  for 
pipes  of  diameter  less  than  36  inches,  and 
steel  for  those  of  larger  diameter  than  48 
inches.  For  pipes  36  and  42  inches  the  choice 
of  metal  is  much  more  debatable,  arid  more 
a  matter  of  policy  than  is  the  case  with 
pipes  for  greater  or  less  size.  With  cast 
iron  pipe,  there  is,  under  ordinary  conditions 
a  practically  indestructible  conduit,  which, 
if  necessary,  can  be  cleaned  of  tubercles  and 
restored  to  its  original  carrying  capacity. 
With  steel  pipe,  the  actual  life  of  the  pipe  is 
limited  to  from  25  to  40  years  and  it  probably 

130 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


would  be  difficult  even  during  the  life  of  the 
pipe,  to  regain  its  original  carrying  capacity, 
by  cleaning,  on  account  of  the  rivet  heads, 
lap  of  plates  and  other  permanent  obstruc- 
tions. Assuming  figures  for  life  that  may  be 
considered  ultra -conservative  so  far  as  cast 
iron  pipe  is  concerned — 35  years  for  steel 
pipe  and  70  years  for  cast  iron  pipe  and  an 
interest  rate  of  4  ^  per  cent  compounded 
semi-annually — the  present  cost  of  renewing 
the  pipes  at  such  intervals  would  be: 

Steel 26.7  cents  per  dollar  of  cost  of  replacement 

Cast  Iron 4.6      "       "       "       «     "     " 

The  ratio  being  -      —  =  1 .21,  that  is  to  say 
104 .6 

21  per  cent  should  be  added  to  the  price  of 
steel  pipe  for  comparison  with  those  of  cast 
iron.  Under  the  assumptions  given  above,  in 
35  years  steel  pipe  will  be  entirely  out  of  com- 
mission and  a  new  pipe  will  be  necessary. 
The  cast  iron  pipe  if  cleaned  would  be  re- 
stored nearly  to  its  original  capacity.  If  at 
the  end  of  the  period  of  35  years  assumed  as 
the  ultimate  life  of  the  steel  pipe,  the  pipe 
becomes  of  insufficient  capacity,  it  is  probable 
that  at  least  a  50-inch  pipe  of  similar  metal 
would  be  required  for  replacement.  If  cast 
iron  pipe  were  laid  now  this  could  be  cleaned 
and  the  additional  capacity  obtained  by  lay- 

131 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


ing   a   second    line   36  inches   in    diameter. 

Either  system  would  have  an  initial  capacity 
of  60  million  gallons  per  day, 
which  is  about  the  maximum 
capacity  of  the  conduit  and 
tunnel.  The  cast  iron  sys- 
tem, however,  would  have  a 
material  advantage  in  furnish- 
ing two  independent  lines,  and 
the  retention  of  a  line  in  con- 
tinuous service  while  the  ad- 
ditional lines  were  being 
constructed.  Based  on  this 
treatment  of  the  problem,  the 
costs  in  1948  would  be: 


39,500  lin.  ft.  50"  Steel  Pipe  at  $9.50, 

$375,500.00 
39,500  "     "     36"  Cast  Iron  at     7.00 

$276,500.00 
Present  Value : 

Steel $375,500  at  .22 $82,600.00 

Cast  Iron. .   £76,500  at  .22 60,800.00 

Difference $21,800.00 

which  is  about  7  per  cent  of 
the  estimated  cost  ($216,600.- 

v.  d.  Hohe,  Germany  QQ)   Qf  pjpe  JJ^  propose(J  f  rom 

Nepang  if  steel  pipe  is  decided  upon.  $16,000 
put  at  interest  now  for  cleaning  that  would 
probably  be  necessary  35  years  hence,  would 
then  keep  the  cast  iron  pipe  clean  for  the 
remainder  of  its  life. 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


Resume. — The  question  of  capacity  is  taken 
care  of  by  increasing  the  size  of  the  riveted 
steel  pipe,  and  allowing  equal  carrying  capac- 
ities for  the  cast  iron  and  lock-bar  types. 
This  assumption,  however,  is  very  favorable 
to  the  lock-bar  type  which  undoubtedly  is 
of  somewhat  less  capacity  than  cast  iron  of  the 
same  diameter,  and  so  should  be  given  a 
somewhat  larger  diameter  for  equal  volume. 
To  have  made  proper  allowance  would  have 
necessitated  additional  detail  drawings,  the 
work  on  which  seemed  hardly  warranted  by 
present  conditions.  As  to  the  remaining 
questions  which  have  been  stated,  there  seems 
to  be  no  doubt  that  in  durability  and  cost  of 
maintenance  steel  is  inferior  to  cast  iron. 

For  leakage  there  seems  to  be  little  to 
choose  between  the  two.  On  the  question 
of  strength  and  reliability  for  uninterrupted 
service,  it  is  possible  that  there  may  be 
points  in  favor  of  steel  pipe.  Whatever 
these  may  be,  however,  at  present,  they  are 
matters  of  individual  opinion  rather  than 
proof  from  data  that  has  accumulated.  Grant- 
ing that  steel  is  the  more  reliable,  at  least 
two  reasons  can  be  given  why  this  feature 
is  not  of  special  importance  in  connection 
with  this  particular  line,  viz.: 

First: — The  line  is  laid  through  a  very 
133 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


sparsely  inhabited  country,  and  principally 
through  a  wide  right-of-way,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  owned  by  the  city.  The  damage, 
therefore,  from  a  break  in  the  pipe  and  con- 
sequent wash  -  out  would  be  comparatively 
small. 

Second: — There  will  be  ample  storage  in 
the  West  Hartford  Reservoir  to  supply  the 
city  during  any  reasonable  period  the  line 
might  be  out  of  order,  and  for  many  years 
to  come  the  amount  of  water  lost  from  such 
a  break  would  be  a  negligible  quantity.  The 
country  through  which  the  line  will  run, 
however,  is  mostly  of  a  free  draining,  gravelly 
or  sandy  nature  and  therefore  is  particularly 
w^ell  adapted  for  steel  pipe.  Two  railroads 
are  crossed  which  may  be  electrified  in  the 
future  and  there  is  a  probability  that  the 
trolley  car  system  wrill  be  extended  into  this 
locality.  This  section,  would,  of  course 
subject  the  pipes  to  damage  from  electrolysis 
to  which  steel  is  much  more  susceptible  than 
cast  iron. 

As  a  result  of  analyzing  and  summarizing 
the  above  statements  it  seems  reasonable, 
in  order  that  a  uniform  basis  may  be  used 
which  will  take  into  account  the  ultimate 
value  of  the  pipe  line  to  the  city,  to  add  15 
per  cent  to  the  price  that  may  be  bid  for  all 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


kinds  of  steel  pipe  for  comparison  with  the 
bids  for  cast  iron  pipe.  Subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Board,  therefore,  bids  will 
be  asked  for  furnishing  and  laying  both  steel 
and  cast  iron  pipe  for  the  Nepang  Pipe  Line, 
Contract  No.  4.  A  statement  will  be  made 
in  the  advertisement  that  15  per  cent  will  be 
added  to  the  price  bid  for  steel  pipe  for  com- 
parison with  the  bids  for  furnishing  and 
laying  cast  iron  pipe. 

I  believe  that  this  method  of  treating  the 
problem  will  result  in  much  greater  advan- 
tage to  the  city  in  getting  reasonable  prices 
for  constructing  the  pipe  line  if  an  arbitrary 
decision  were  made  in  favor  of  either  metal. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

(Signed)  C.  M.  SAVILLE. 

Chief  Engineer. 

R.  L.  HAYCOCK,  Water  Works  Engineer, 
City  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  in  a  "Report  on 
Redistribution  System,"  for  that  city,  under 
date  of  October  19,  1915,  says: 

To  the  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  Water 
Works  Committee,  City  Hall. 

GENTLEMEN: — In  general  this  work  com- 
prises the  addition  of  distributing  mains 
varying  in  size  from  10  inches  to  36  inches 

13,5 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


to  feed   our  present  system  throughout  the 

city. 

*         *         * 

Messrs.  Lea  based  their  estimate  for  the 
work  on  cast  iron  pipe  in  10-inch  and  12-inch 
size,  and  steel  pipe  16-inch  to  36-inch,  but 
stated  it  is  desirable  to  use  cast  iron  pipe 
in  preference  to  steel  for  the  16-inch  size. 
I  have  discussed  with  Mr.  W.  S.  Lea  the 
advisability  of  using  cast  iron  pipe  through- 
out for  city  street  mains,  and  he  said,  by  all 
means  to  use  cast  iron  pipe  in  preference  to 
steel  if  it  is  possible  to  obtain  it  without  too 
great  a  difference  in  cost. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1915,  the  following 
table  was  presented  to  the  Water  Works 
Committee  to  show  the  advantage  of  cast 
iron  over  steel  pipe: 

TABLE  No.  1 


—10"  Pipe- 


Steel 

Thickness  %  Inch 


Corrodes  much  more  rapidly  than 
C.  I.  Made  in  U.  S.  and  England. 
Slow  delivery. 

More  labor  to  cut  for  connections. 
Excessive  electrolysis  and  espe- 
cially where  brass  connections  are 
screwed  into  the  thin  metal. 
Has  not  yet  proved  by  experience 
its  superiority  over  Cast  Iron. 
Used  extensively  in  West,  where 
freight  charges  are  ruling  factor. 


Cast  Iron 
Thickness  %  Inch 


Corrosion  very  slight  in  compari- 
son to  steel. 

Made  in  Canada,  quick  delivery. 
Easy  to  cut  for  connections. 
Very  slight  electrolysis  and  much 
better   joint   where    connections 
are  threaded  into  thick  pipe. 
Has  proved  by  experience  good 
for  forty  to  fifty  years. 


136 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


Though  cast  iron  pipe  in  the  16-inch  size 
cost  at  that  time  about  22  cents  per  foot 
more  than  steel,  it  was  decided  to  adopt  it 
owing  to  the  records  of  long  life  of  cast  iron 
as  against  the  short  life  of  steel  pipe  when 
used  in  street  main  work. 

The  following  circular  letter  was  sent  to 
twenty-two  Canadian  cities  and  eighteen 
American  cities,  and  the  replies  are  tabulated 
in  Table  No.  2,  as  follows: 

DEAR  SIR:— We  are  putting  down  a  new 
distribution  system  for  our  water  works,  and 
I  would  appreciate  an  answer  to  the  following : 
Kindly  state  whether  you  use  the  following 
sizes  of  pipe  in  steel  or  cast  iron: — 16", 
18",  20",  24",  30"  and  36". 
Yours  truly, 

R.  L.  HAYCOCK, 
Water  Works  Engineer. 

This  table  shows  that  cast  iron  is  uni- 
versally used  and  that  it  is  the  exception 
to  the  rule  to  use  steel  for  street  mains. 
I  have  found  since  that  New  York  is  using 
cast  iron  pipe  up  to  and  including  48  inches 
for  city  street  purposes. 

Much  information  has  been  obtained  on 
this  subject,  and  the  following  extracts  taken 
from  a  great  number  of  examples  will  show 

137 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


TABLE  No.  2 
CANADA 


City 

C.  I.  Pipe 

Steel  Pipe 

Remarks 

Halifax. 

All  sizes 

None 

27"  largest  size. 

St.  John  

All  sizes 

None 

Quebec  

All  sizes 

None 

Includes     40"     and     44" 

mains  8J^  miles  long. 

Montreal  

All  sizes 

None 

New     England     W.     W. 

Ass'n  Standard. 

Toronto  

16"  to  36" 

Hamilton  .... 

16"  to  36" 

$32  ton  delivered  at  trench 

Windsor  

All  sizes 

None 

16"    largest    at    present, 

future  20"  and  24". 

London  

All  sizes 

None 

Have  no  steel  at  all 

Port  Arthur 

Up  to  12" 

12"  and  24" 

40,000  ft.  24"  Steel,  6,000 

ft.  12"  Steel;   balance  of 

pipe  used  is  Cast  Iron. 

Fort  William  

All  sizes 

36"  intake  only 

. 

\Vinnipeg 

All  sizes 

36"  intake 

36"    lock-bar   Steel    from 

supply  to  city. 

Brandon. 

All  sizes 

None 

Do  not  recommend  Steel 

for  any  size,  states  not 

durable. 

Regina  

All  sizes 

None 

Edmonton  

Up  to  10" 

Above  10" 

Prefer  C.  I.  for  long  life. 

but  forced  to  use  Steel 

on  account  price. 

New  Westminster  .  . 

Up  to  10" 

Above  10" 

Vancouver  

18"    under    salt 

water 

All  sizes 

Giving  trouble  on  car  line 
streets,  electrolysis. 

Victoria  

None 

All  sizes 

42"   concrete   (reinforced) 

for  flow  line. 

New  York  

16"  to  36" 

Do  not  use  18"  size. 

Washington  

16"  to  36" 

24"  and  30" 

No  18"  size  used. 

Philadelphia  

16"  to  36" 

Boston  

All  sizes 

None 

Cast  Iron  exclusively. 

Portland,  Ore  

4"  to  30" 

Main  conduits 

Do    not    favor    Steel    in 

mains,     especially    bad 

under  hard  pavements; 

Cast  Iron  exclusively. 

Albany 

All  sizes 

None 

*Troy  

All  sizes 

None 

Prohibit  the  use  of  Steel 

Buffalo 

All  sizes 

None 

Erie  

All  sizes 

60"  intake  only 

Do   not  favor   Steel   pipe 

in  ground. 

UNITED 

STATES 

Cleveland  

3"  to  48" 

Where  mains 

lead  from  P.S. 

and   on   H-ll- 

sides. 

Detroit  

All  sizes 

None 

Do  not  use  18"  size. 

Chicago...  

16"  to  36" 

Do  not  use  18"  size. 

Minneapolis  
St.  Louis  

All  up  to  48" 
All  sizes 

48"  and  over 
None 

Are  going  to  try  8"  Steel 

outside  city. 

Birmingham,  Ala.  .  . 

All  sizes 

None 

San  Francisco  

All  sizes 

None 

Los  Angeles  

Up  to  30" 

36"  and  72" 

Used  Steel  as  small  as  14" 
Exceptional  cases  where 

money  was  scarce. 

St.  Paul... 

4"  to  36" 

*  Troy  laid  33"  best  riveted  Steel  pipe  in  1893.    After  eight  to  nine  years  pipe 
had  to  be  abandoned  and  duplicated  by  30"  Cast.  Iron  at  cost  of  $300,000. 

138 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


that  cast  iron  pipe  is  used  in  preference  to 

steel  pipe  for  many  water  distribution  systems. 

*  *         * 

(Mr.   Haycock   here   quotes   much   of   the 

data  contained  elsewhere  in  this  book.) 

*  *         * 

Recommendations 

The  following  pipe  is  required  for  the 
completion  of  the  redistribution: 

5,700  feet  of  18-inch 
2,850  "  "  20-inch 
2,400  "  "  24-inch 
1,550  "  "  30-inch 
7,150  "  "  36-inch 

The  lowest  quotation  in  cast  iron  pipe  for 
all  above  listed  pipe  was  $112,719.00.  The 
lowest  quotation  in  lap  welded  steel  pipe  for 
all  above  listed  pipe  was  $107,074.35. 

The  relative  thickness  of  cast  iron  and 
steel  pipes  quoted  on  are  as  follows : 

18"  20"  24"  30"  36* 

Cast  Iron %"         %"          11-25"    11-5"     W 

Steel %"        Y±"          Y±"          W        W 

In  all  steel  pipe  quotations  they  state  they 
would  give  no  guarantee  as  to  the  life  of  pipe. 
Cast  iron  pipe  we  know  is  good  for  from 
50  to  250  years. 

Number  of  letters  received  from  pipe  manufacturers 35 

Number  of  quotations  received  for  Cast  Iron  pipe 9 

Number  of  quotations  received  for  Steel  pipe 5 

Number  of  letters  received  in  which  no  quotations  were  given .  .  21 

139 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 

After  consideration  of  all  the  facts  laid 
out  in  this  report,  I  recommend  that  cast 
iron  pipe  be  adopted  for  the  completion  of 
the  Redistribution  System  in  the  18",  20", 
24",  30"  and  36"  sizes,  and  that  tenders  be 
called  for  the  supply  of  this  pipe,  and  that 
orders  be  placed  for  winter  delivery,  as  the 
quotations  received  show  a  considerable  sav- 
ing (about  6  per  cent)  on  winter  delivery 
over  spring  delivery. 

I  would  not  take  the  responsibility  of 
installing  steel  pipe  of  the  thickness  offered 
when  permanency  is  to  be  the  prime  object 
of  an  installation  of  this  kind. 

Respectfully,  submitted, 

R.  L.  HAYCOCK, 
Water  Works  Engineer. 

In  the  valuation  of  public  water  and  gas 
utilities  the  question  of  depreciation  of  pipe 
lines  is  one  on  which  very  little  specific  data 
has  heretofore  been  obtainable.  Rates  have 
varied  from  1%  per  annum  to  50%  charged 
off  upon  putting  the  lines  into  service.  That 
the  latter  rate  is  unfair,  however,  is  proven  by 
the  following  data  secured  from  the  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Water  Departments  of  a 
number  of  the  leading  cities  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  in  response  to  the  ques- 
tions at  the  head  of  the  columns: 

140 


METAL  PIPE  DETERIORATION 


What  Rate  of  Depreciation 
is  Adopted? 


Is  System  Based  Upon 
Life  of  the  Pipe? 


New  York  City. 

Chicago 

Philadelphia 
Boston 


St.  Louis 


New  Orleans.  . 


Baltimore 


St.  Paul. 


Minneapolis 


Edmonton,  Can 


"Based  upon  the  usual  life  of 
the  bond,  which  is  50  years, 
we  use  2%  rate." 

"Two  and  one-half  per  cenl . 
(2&%)  compounded." 

"No  system  yet  adopted." 


"No  system  yet  adopted." 


"No  system  for  pipe  separate 
from  Water  Works  in  its  en- 
tirety, and  figure  would  not 
be  fair  for  pipe  only." 


"Dp  not  carry  any  deprecia- 
tion account  as  yet." 


'No  system  of  depreciation." 


"Operating  and  maintenance 
charges,  repairs  and  replace- 
ments are  provided  out  of 
the  revenues  of  the  depart- 
ment, as  well  as  the  interest 
on  its  funded  debt  and  a 
sinking  fund  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  its  bonds,  which  are 
retired  at  maturity,  and 
which  is  considered  sufficient 
depreciation — all  bonds  be- 
ing issued  for  a  period 
shorter  than  the  life  of  the 
property  they  cover." 


"Proceedings  of  the  A.S.C.E., 
Oct.,  1908,  given  by  several 
authorities  on  Water  Wrorks 
valuation,  a  range  of  50  to 
75  years  of  life  of  cast  iron 
pipe.  This  would  be  equiva- 
lent to  2%  to  1.33%." 


"No  specific  rate." 


(See  answer  to  1st  Q.) 

"Yes." 

"Pipe  now  in  use  nearly  100 
years  old." 

"We  usually  consider  a  fair 
estimate  of  the  life  of  our 
pipe  to  be  60  years." 


:'The  life  of  cast  iron  pipe  is 
generally  taken  here  at 
100  years." 


''Always  assumed  80  years 
as  life  of  cast  iron  pipe." 

"Cast  iron  pipe  first  laid  in 
1805  —  condition  still 
good." 


'Condition  of  pipe  always 
found  to  be  generally 
good." 


'Our  soil  is  very  favorable 
to  long  life  and  when  figur- 
ing life  of  water  mains  as  a 
whole  we  generally  say 
about  1%" 

'Combination — i.  e.,  it  is 
based  on  the  term  of  the 
debenture  (40  years),  but 
takes  into  consideration 
also  the  estimated  life  of 
the  asset." 


141 


PIPE   AND    THE    PUBLIC1    WELFARE 


What  Rate  of  Depreciation 
is  Adopted? 

Is  System  Based  Upon 
Life  of  the  Pipe.? 

Montreal,  Can  

"None." 

"Cast  iron  pipe  in  any  water 
works  system  in  a  growing 
community     should     long 

outlast  its  usefulness,  that 

is,  the  growth  of  the  com- 

munity    would     probably 

make  the  pipes  too  small 

40  or  50  years  after  they 

were  laid.    That  condition 

we  figure,  is  the  greatest 

cause    of    depreciation   in 

value  of  the  water  mains. 

Cast  iron  itself  in  ordinary 

soils  is  well  nigh  everlast- 

ing." 

Toronto,  Can  

"None." 

"Here  we  consider  the  pipe 

good    for     100    years     at 

least." 

To  sum  up:  Steel  is  an  experiment,  and 
the  unfortunate  experience  of  a  number  of 
cities  where  it  has  been  installed  indicates 
that  it  is  not  a  very  successful  one.  It  de- 
teriorates rapidly,  lasts  from  five  to  possibly 
thirty  years,  entails  high  cost  of  maintenance, 
loss  of  water  through  leakage,  and  insecurity, 
and  has  no  salvage  value  at  the  end  of  its  life. 

Cast  iron  has  a  history  of  250  years  or  more, 
is  not  an  experiment,  but  a  certainty;  does  not 
depend  on  its  coating  for  its  existence;  en- 
tails little  or  no  cost  of  maintenance  or 
superintendence;  leakage  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum; absolute  security,  and  high  salvage 
value  at  the  end  of  its  life. 


142 


CHAPTER  IV 


WOOD     PIPE 


CHAPTER    IV 

WOOD    PIPE 

THE  occasional  discovery  in  the  streets  of 
some  of  our  older  cities  of  pieces  of  bored 
logs  in  a  more  or  less  good  state  of  pres- 
ervation, has  furnished  an  argument  for  the 
continued  use  of  wood  pipe  for  water  dis- 
tribution. It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  how- 
ever, that  all  of  this  old  wood  pipe  is  of  very 
small  diameter,  having  in  most  cases  an 
original  wall  thickness  of  four  to  six  inches. 
The  modern  wood  pipe  built  up  of  staves, 
wire  wound  or  banded,  is  an  entirely  different 
article  from  the  bored  log  of  a  century  ago, 
and  the  various  processes  involved  in  its  manu- 
facture offer  numerous  points  of  weakness. 
It  is  already  generally  recognized  that  the 
use  of  wood  stave  pipe  is  indicated  only 
when  and  where  the  work  is  to  be  of  a  tem- 
porary character.  The  largest  market  for 
this  pipe  has  been  in  western  states,  generally 
for  reclamation  purposes  where  large  volumes 
of  water  are  carried  over  long  distances 
through  rough  and  arid  sections  of  the 
country.  In  the  early  development  of  domes- 

145 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


tic  water  supply  throughout  the  Rocky 
Mountain  and  Pacific  Coast  States,  large 
quantities  of  wood  pipe  were  used,  but  this 
has  been  almost  entirely  replaced  in  recent 
years  with  cast  iron  pipe.  One  of  the  peculiar 
conditions  of  the  pipe  industry  in  this  country 
in  the  past  ten  or  fifteen  years  has  been  the 
shipment  to  Eastern  cities  of  considerable 
quantities  of  wood  pipe,  wrhich  because  of 
its  cheapness  was  used  instead  of  cast  iron 
pipe.  At  the  same  time  many  thousands  of 
tons  of  cast  iron  pipe  were  being  shipped 
from  the  East  and  South  to  the  Rocky 
Mountain  and  Pacific  Coast  States  for  the 
replacement  of  wood  pipe  which  had  failed 
in  service. 

The  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  quality  of 
staves  used  in  the  construction  of  wood  pipe 
and  the  practical  impossibility  of  securing 
such  uniformity  is  one  of  the  serious  weak- 
nesses of  this  product.  Another,  and  fully 
as  serious,  is  the  rapid  destruction  by  rust  of 
the  steel  bands  or  wire  with  which  the  pipe  is 
wound.  It  can  be  readily  understood  that 
when  these  bands  are  broken  the  usefulness 
of  the  pipe  is  ended.  None  of  the  wood  pipe 
installed  during  the  past  twenty  or  twenty -five 
years  has  a  record  of  more  than  six  or  eight 
years  of  uninterrupted  satisfactory  service. 

146 


WOOD   PIPE 


A  "Report  on  Life  of  Wood  Pipe"  by  D.  C. 
Henny,  Consulting  Engineer  United  States 
Reclamation  Service,  Portland,  Oregon,  pub- 
lished in  Engineering  News,  Volume  74,  No.  9, 
is  quoted  in  part  as  follows: 

"The  term  'fir'  is  applied  to  the  most 
common  wood  of  the  Pacific  Northwest. 
Scientifically  it  is  a  bastard  spruce,  first  named 
by  Douglas.  Locally  it  is  known  as  fir  or 
Douglas  fir,  and  distinction  is  sometimes  made 
between  yellow  and  red  fir.  These  come 
from  the  same  kind  of  tree,  the  yellow  fir 
being  most  common.  The  large  trees  yield 
yellow  fir,  while  the  wood  from  smaller  trees 
is  apt  to  show  a  reddish  tint.  Sun  exposure 
also  appears  to  affect  the  color  to  some 
extent.  In  California  the  wood  is  termed 
Oregon  pine.  This  wood  is  strong,  and  can 
be  obtained  in  long  lengths.  Mill  run  of 
commercial  sizes  probably  average  over  20 
feet  in  length.  It  contains  pitch,  which  forms 
in  seams  and  pockets,  normally  occurring 
even  in  commercially  clear  wood  within 
certain  limits.  The  trees  usually  yield  less 
than  25  per  cent  of  wood  free  from  sap  and 
knots.  The  expense  of  eliminating  these 
defects  has  led  to  the  practice,  as  regards  pipe 
construction,  of  permitting  some  small  and 
sound  knots  and  sap. 

147 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


44  Redwood  grows  on  the  Pacific  Coast  from 
Santa  Cruz  north  into  southern  Oregon. 
By  reason  of  the  average  large  diameter  of 
the  trees,  the  logs  are  cut  shorter  than  in  the 
case  of  fir,  and  the  commercial  mill  run 
averages  about  16  feet  in  length.  The  wood 
is  not  as  strong  as  fir.  About  50  per  cent  of 
the  wrood  cuts  up  clear  and  free  of  sap 
which  has  led  to  the  custom  of  demanding 
freedom  from  knots  and  sap  in  ordinary  pipe 
specifications. 

"Continuous-stave  pipe  consists  of  staves 
breaking  joint  and  clamped  together  with 
bands,  which  since  1888  have  universally 
been  made  up  of  steel  bolts  and  lugs,  the  latter 
being  made  of  cast  iron,  malleable  iron,  or 
pressed  steel.  The  butt  joints  are  made  tight 
by  a  metal  or  wooden  plate. 

"Wire- wound  or  machine-banded  pipe  is 
pipe  made  up  in  sections  from  10  to  24  feet 
in  length.  It  consists  of  staves  held  together 
by  galvanized  wire,  spirally  wound  around  the 
pipe  under  heavy  tension.  The  wood  is 
usually  kiln  dried,  which  is  not  the  case  with 
continuous-stave  pipe.  The  ends  of  each 
section  are  machine  turned  to  an  exact 
diameter,  sometimes  slightly  tapered.  Sec- 
tions are  united  by  some  form  of  sleeve,  a 
sleeve  made  up  of  staves  and  wround  around 

148 


WOOD   PIPE 


with    wire   or   individual   bands    being   most 
common. 

"Wire-wound  pipes  for  light  pressures  are 
often  provided  with  mortise  and  tenon  ends, 
dispensing  with  the  necessity  of  sleeves. 
Under  the  head  of  wire-wound  pipe  in  the 
tables  a  few  cases  have  been  grouped  of  bored- 
log  pipe,  which  is  wound  not  with  wire,  but 
with  flat  iron  or  steel.  Such  pipe  is  often 
jointed  by  metal  sleeves,  generally  riveted 
iron  or  steel. 

:<The  wood  surface  in  continuous-stave 
pipe  is,  with  a  few  exceptions,  uncoated, 
while  sectional  pipe  is  heavily  coated,  the 
coat  consisting  of  asphaltum  and  tar,  with 
sawdust  on  the  outer  skin. 

"The  investigation  has  had  in  view  espe- 
cially the  life  of  pipe  as  affected  by  the 
durability  of  the  wood.  The  life  as  given  in 
the  tables  refers  to  the  wood  alone,  and  is 
further  confined  as  to  sectional  pipe  to  wood 
in  the  pipe  sections  and  not  to  wood  in  the 
sleeves.  Figures  followed  by  the  plus  sign 
show  age  rather  than  life.  The  information 
collected  is  based  mostly  on  reports  received 
from  managers  or  owners,  and  in  small  part 
on  personal  observation.  It  is  not  as  com- 
plete as  is  desirable,  which,  however,  is  not 
due  to  failure  to  elicit  further  information. 

149 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


"Reviewing  the  information  as  grouped 
under  its  headings,  it  may  be  estimated  that 
under  conditions  of  continuous  water  pres- 
sure the  life  of  various  kinds  of  wood  pipe 
may  be  as  follows : 

Wood                                                       Condition  Years 

Fir           — Uncoated,  buried  in  tight  soil 20 

Fir                     "                "       "    loose     " 4-7 

Fir                     "            in  air 12-20 

Redwood —  buried  in  tight  soil,  loam  or  sand,  and 

gravel 25  + 

Fir            — Well  coated,  buried  in  tight  soil 25 

Fir                   "         "             "     "     loose     "  15-20 

"Under  conditions  interfering  with  com- 
plete saturation  of  the  wood,  the  life  is  cut 
down  materially.  These  conditions  are  in 
the  case  of  uncoated  pipe  brought  about  by 
open  soil  and  low  water  pressure.  The  effect 
of  coating  appears  to  be  equivalent  to  tight 
soil  cover,  with  possibly  the  additional  ad- 
vantage of  tar  in  the  coating  acting  as  a 
disinfectant.  The  effect  of  unfavorable  con- 
ditions as  to  lack  of  complete  saturation  is 
serious  in  redwood,  resulting  in  a  life  which 
may  be  shorter  than  15  years,  but  is  much 
more  marked  in  fir,  where  it  may  be  as  low, 
in  spite  of  coating,  as  six  years. 

"It  is  quite  possible  that  the  life  of  in- 
dividual pipe  is  not  merely  affected  by  sur- 
rounding conditions,  but  may  have  been 
shortened  by  the  quality  of  the  individual 

150 


WOOD   PIPE 


pieces  or  the  treatment  of  the  wood.  The 
wood  from  the  bottom  of  a  tree  is  close  grained 
and  likely  to  last  longer  than  from  the  top 
of  the  tree,  even  though  free  from  sap. 
Bastard-sawn  staves,  especially  in  fir,  resist 
penetration  of  the  water  in  the  pipe  to  a 
greater  extent  than  diagonal  or  vertical- 
grained  wood  and  may  show  a  shorter  life. 
Again,  too  rapid  kiln  drying,  which  may  at 
times  have  been  practiced  on  lumber  from 
which  staves  for  wire-wound  pipe  were  run, 
may  have  partially  destroyed  the  vitality  of 
the  wood. 

"In  this  investigation  it  has  not  been  found 
practicable  to  differentiate  between  the  causes 
which  in  this  manner  may  have  shortened  the 
life  of  the  wood  in  pipe,  nor  to  ascertain  what 
has  been  the  effect  of  permitting  some  sap  in 
the  wood  from  which  decay  may  have  spread 
to  the  adjoining  sound  wood.  Unquestion- 
ably much  wire-wound  pipe  has  been  manu- 
factured without  being  subjected  to  strict 
supervision  and  inspection. 

"Wood  pipe  is  not  suitable  in  cases  where 
it  can  not  be  kept  full  and  under  pressure 
during  periods  of  use.  Coating  can  not  under- 
such  conditions  be  expected  to  afford  pro- 
tection against  decay.  Coating  should  be 
continuous  and  heavy,  not  less  than  one- 

151 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


sixteenth  inch  to  be  fully  effective,  and  should 
preferably  consist  of  more  than  one  individual 
coat  of  a  mixture  of  asphaltum  and  tar,  or  an 
application  of  gas  tar  followed  by  one  or  more 
applications  of  refined  coal  tar.  Little  ex- 
perience, however,  can  be  quoted  in  support 
of  all-tar  coating." 

From  this  report  it  will  be  noted  that  the 
life  of  wood  pipe  is  dependent  on  a  number  of 
conditions — character  of  soil,  degree  of  sat- 
uration of  the  wood,  quality  of  wood,  kind  of 
coating,  etc. 

Even  with  all  these  conditions  perfect,  there 
is  always  the  danger  of  collapse  from  external 
pressure  when  the  pipe  is  emptied,  as  is  fre- 
quently necessary  in  all  water  lines.  This  was 
disastrously  demonstrated  at  Lynchburg,  Va., 
August  16,  1913,  when  a  section  of  the  30-inch 
wood  main  of  the  gravity  system  bringing  the 
city's  water  supply  from  Pedlar  River,  col- 
lapsed for  a  length  of  35  to  40  feet  at  a  point 
about  21  miles  from  the  city  and  large  portions 
of  the  city  and  suburbs  were  without  water 
for  nearly  two  days.  Another  interruption 
of  the  water  service  was  caused  by  a  bad 
leak  in  the  line  which  occurred  October  20, 
1915,  and  The  News,  the  leading  daily  paper 
of  that  city  said,  editorially,  in  its  issue  of 
October  21,  1915—  "At  any  time  we  may 


WOOD   PIPE 


have  another  and  more  serious  break  in  the 
line  of  pipe  extending  from  Pedlar  to  the  city, 
for  which  we  have  no  defense.  Thus  Lynch  - 
burg  remains  a  threatened  city — imperilled 
by  the  menace  of  water  famine."  (Emphasis 
is  theirs.)  Plans  were  already  well  under 
way  at  that  time  for 
changes  in  the  supply 
system  which  involved 
the  ultimate  abandon- 
ment of  the  wood  pipe 
line,  which  had  been 
in  use  less  than  ten 
years,  and  the  city  will 
for  many  years  have  to 
carry  the  burden  of  this 
costly  experiment. 

This  experience  is 
typical  of  practically 
every  municipality  that 
has  installed  wood  pipe 
for  water  supply  in  recent  years,  and  the 
numerous  failures  of  such  pipe  has  occasioned 
much  discussion  in  engineering  publications, 
some  of  which  are  quoted,  as  follows: 

Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  Vol.  LXXIV— 1911. 
(Pipes  laid  1905-9  and  tested  1909-10.) 

P.  421 — 55  ^4-inch  pipe — 4  diameters  mea- 
sured— shortest  diameter  54  1-16  inches,  long- 

153 


Wood  Pipe,  Conway,  Arkansas,  Re- 
placed After  Four  Years  by  Cast 
Iron  Pipe 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 

est  diameter  57  3-8  inches,  showing  flattening 
of  the  pipe. 

P.  422 — 22-inch  pipe  seems  to  have  been 
warped  out  of  shape  about  an  inch. 

P.  430 — "Evidence  of  considerable  wear 
on  staves."  "The  softer  portions  of  the  fir 
lumber  had  been  worn  down,  leaving  the 
harder  parts  to  form  small  ridges  approxi- 
mately parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  pipe." 

P.  432 — "The  water  carries  quite  a  large 
quantity  of  silt  in  suspension  and  the  velocity 
under  which  pipe  had  been  operating  was 
0.8  ft.  per  sec."  (A  very  low  velocity  for  a 
water  supply  line  and  yet  this  caused  wear 
in  the  pipe  staves.) 

P.  473—  "Unless  the  wood  is  kept  saturated 
with  water  early  decay  may  be  expected." 
"To  be  successful  the  wood  should  be  of 
uniform  and  permeable  texture,  similar  to 
well  seasoned,  clear,  white  pine,  cedar  or 
redwood,  with  the  grain  normal  to  the  cir- 
cumference." :<The  use  of  fir  or  reservoir 
woods  should  be  avoided  except  for  temporary 
work  or  where  cost  makes  the  more  porous 
woods  inexpedient.  If  reservoir  wood  is  used 
there  should  be  no  knots  and  the  staves  should 
be  sawed  with  straight  grain  normal  to  the 
circumference,  and  not  parallel  to  it,  as  in 
general  practice.  The  fat  layers  prevent 

154 


WOOD   PIPE 


saturation  and  the  pipes  rot  from   the   out- 
side." 

"Fir  pipes  laid  in  sandy  clay  showed  signs 
of  serious  decay  in  a  short  life  of  five  years 
and  in  one  instance  the  metal  banding  was 
cut  through  by  sand  impinged  upon  it  by  a 
pin  hole  leak." 

Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  Vol.  LXX— 1910. 

P.  167 — Wood  pipe  used  for  a  large  portion 
of  a  128  mile  water  supply  line  on  account  of 
cheapness.  Under  heads  over  130  pounds, 
however,  cast  iron  used  on  account  of  ability 
to  stand  high  pressures  and  preferred  to 
steel  on  account  of  its  greater  durability. 

Wood  pipe  was  machine  made,  spirally 
wound  and  made  by  the  Wykoff  Wood  Pipe 
Co.,  and  the  Michigan  Pipe  Co. 

(Wykoff  Pipe) — In  some  cases  when  the 
initial  pressure  and  leaking  between  staves 
of  dry  pipe  were  great,  the  escaping  air  and 
wrater  had  lifted  the  coating  into  bubbles. 
At  some  points  where  this  lifting  was  great 
enough  to  rupture  the  asphalt  (coating)  and 
the  soil  heavily  charged  with  asphalt,  some 
corrosion  has  begun  (after  only  two  years' 
service.) 

The  integrity  and  impermeability  of  the 
asphalt  coat  are  quite  as  vital  as  constant 
saturation. 

155 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


NOTE. — The  velocity  and  discharge  of  new, 
well  laid  cast  iron  pipes  is  about  three  per  cent 
less  than  that  of  wood  stave  pipe.  While 
allowance  must  be  made  for  deterioration  in 
cast  iron  pipes  due  to  tuberculation,  the  life 
is  from  two  to  four  times  as  long  on  conser- 
vative estimation  and  with  modern  methods 
of  pipe  cleaning  the  original  carrying  capacity 
can  be  restored  to  cast  iron  pipes  at  very  small 
expense. 

In  most  cases  the  importance  of  the  asphalt 
coating  is  recognized  and  apparently  the  life 
of  the  pipe  is  absolutely  dependent  on  this 
protection;  when  it  comes  off  the  pipe  decays 
rapidly. 

Engineering  and  Contracting,  October  15, 
1913,  P.  422. 

Engineering  News,  February  6,  1913,  P.  244. 

In  the  above  references  emphasis  is  laid 
on  the  importance  of  using  a  protective 
coating.  Several  small  leaks  wrere  caused  by 
the  cutting  of  the  steel  bands  by  the  escape 
of  silt-bearing  water. 

Engineering  News,  March  27,  1913,  P.  635. 

a.  An  inverted  siphon  6,200  feet  long  of 
38-inch  continuous  wrood  stave  construction 
was  built  five  years  ago.  During  last  irri- 
gation season  it  became  so  badly  impaired  as 
to  be  unreliable  for  future  service.  It  was 

156 


WOOD   PIPE 


found  that  the  staves  had  rotted  from  the 
outside  only.     When  buried  in  damp  soil  or 
submerged,  pipe  \vas  sound. 
The  general  conclusions  given: 

1.  Wood  stave  pipe  without  a  preservative 
coating,  buried  'in  dry  volcanic  ash  soil  and 
not    under    hydraulic 

pressure  continuously 
will  be  subject  to  rapid 
decay. 

2.  Its   life   is   much 
greater  when  the  staves 
are  exposed  directly  to 
the  air. 

3.  Rapid   decay 
would  not  take  place 
if  pipe  was  buried  in 
wet  volcanic  ash  soil. 

b.  Experience  at  Ta- 
coma,  Washington. 

-p,     '  .         ,  .  Leak  in  Wood  Pipe  Line— This  Line, 

1*  OUl'teen-inch      Wire          7  Miles  Long,  Was  Replaced  After 

wound  stave  pipe  laid  One  Year  by  Cast  Iron  Pipe 
by  city  in  1903.  Frequent  repairs  were  nec- 
essary on  account  of  leakage  through  open 
seams  and  usually  cut  bands  were  found. 
The  open  seams  were  attributed  to  the  careless 
use  of  hydrants,  causing  water  hammer 
thereby  increasing  the  already  high  pressure. 
The  consequent  leakage  churned  up  the  sand 

157 


PIPE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


backfill,  cutting  the  bands  and  so  aggravating 
the  trouble.  The  pipe  was  replaced  in  1910 
with  a  cast-iron  main. 

During  the  summer  of  1912  a  section  of 
31 -inch  stave  pipe  laid  in  1899  was  replaced. 
Pipe  was  uncoated  and  laid  in  a  light  sandy 
loam  and  covered  two  feet;  the  pressure  was 
forty  pounds  per  square  inch. 

The  staves  were  found  to  be  water  soaked 
and  in  fair  condition  on  the  inside.  On  the 
outside  the  bottom  staves  were  good  but  a 
small  amount  of  rot  showed  along  the  sides 
above  the  spring  line.  There  was  excessive 
rot  along  the  top  staves. 

Along  the  top  of  the  top  there  was  not  over 
one-half  inch  of  sound  wood,  that  part  between 
the  bands  not  having  sufficient  cohesion  to 
stay  on  the  staves  which  were  removed. 

The  drying  out  of  the  backfill  during  the 
summer  heat  with  the  absorption  of  the 
surface  moisture  from  the  staves  was  the  cause 
of  the  trouble. 

Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.9  Vol.  LVIII,  1907. 

Experience  with  18-inch  wood  stave  pipe 
laid  in  1895  for  the  city  of  Astoria,  Ore.  The 
staves  deteriorated  so  much  after  ten  years'  use 
that  very  extensive  renewals  and  repairs  were 
necessary,  involving  an  expenditure  of  more 
than  one-third  of  the  original  cost  of  the  pipe. 

158 


WOOD   PIPE 


Important  facts  brought  out  here: 

1.  Staves  which  are  constantly  subject  to 
water  pressure  from  within  and  are  buried  in 
the  ground  may  be  very  short  lived. 

2.  The   pipe   laid   above   ground   has   not 
deteriorated  to  any  considerable  extent. 

3.  When  buried  its  durability  has  depended 
upon  soil  conditions  and  the  depth  of  backfill. 

4.  When  the  depth  of  backfill  has  exceeded 
two  feet  above  the  pipe  and  the  material  has 
been   free   from    vegetable    matter    and    has 
been  of  a  fine  and  impervious  character,  much 
less  deterioration  has  taken  place. 

5.  Whenever    the    staves    have    been    in 
contact  with  loamy  earth  or  earth  containing 
loamy   vegetable   matter   or   whenever   they 
have  been  covered  with  porous  material  to  a 
depth  of  less  than  two  feet  rapid  decay  has 
resulted. 

6.  Decayed  staves  were  found  all  around 
the  pipe. 

7.  Sound    staves    were    frequently    found 
contiguous  to  badly  decayed  staves. 

8.  The    character    of    the    grain,    whether 
slash  or  grain  edge,  has  not  influenced  the 
durability. 

9.  The  bruising  of  the  staves  during  the 
process  of  erection  seems  to  have  been  one 
of  the  chief  agencies  in  hastening  decay. 

159 


PIPE   AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


10.  Decay  has  been  confined  to  the  out- 
side of  the  pipe. 

In  the  discussion  which  follows  the  above 
statement  of  facts  it  appears  that  the  experi- 
ence with  old  wooden  penstocks  in  New 
England  is  analagous  to  that  with  wood  pipe 
elsewhere;  i.e.,  that  it  is  subject  to  frequent 
renewals. 

Regarding  the  preservation  of  wood  con- 
stantly under  water,  experience  with  the  old 
wooden  Holyoke  Dam  is  cited,  where  6-inch 
timbers  constantly  under  20  feet  of  w^ater 
were  rotted  until  there  was  no  more  sound 
wood  left  than  would  form  a  little  veneer  on 
the  water  side  which  was  preserved  sometimes 
only  one-eighth  inch  thick. 

From  the  experience  at  Astoria  it  would 
appear  that  the  light  pressure  at  the  summits 
where  the  pipe  line  came  near  to  the  hydraulic 
grade  line — pressures  say  of  less  than  50  feet- 
were  responsible  in  part  at  least  for  this 
deterioration. 

Engineering  News,  November  20,  1913. 

Experience  with  wood  stave  pipe  of  the 
Atlantic  City  Water  Works. 

The  wood  stave  pipe  is  reported  to  be  in 
first-class  condition  except  that  the  wrought 
iron  bands  show  some  corrosion. 

NOTE. — Nevertheless,  when  a  new  48-inch 
160 


WOOD   PIPE 


main  was  laid  two  years  after  the  wood  main, 
cast  iron  pipe  was  chosen. 

Engineering  News,  May  7,  1914. 

Rebuilding  an  old  wood  penstock,  Gothen- 
burg, Neb. 

Penstock,  built  in  1890-1,  originally  cov- 
ered with  loose  soil  but  wind  and  rain  had 
uncovered  portions  and  these  had  decayed 
badly.  The  inner  surface  was  always  sound 
but  at  the  end  of  ten  years  leaks  began  to 
show  up  causing  decay 
on  the  outer  surface 
which  allowed  the 
staves  to  spring  out  of 
place  under  pressure. 

Experience     of     the 
D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co. 

About  five  years  ago 
laid  from  12  to  15,000 
feet  of  20-inch  wood 
stave  pipe  in  New  Jer- 
sey and  are  now  re- 
placing this  pipe  with 
cast  iron.  Leakage  so 
great  that  it  would  not 
pay  to  continue  its  use  although  strenuous 
effort  was  made  to  get  it  tight. 

Company  also  laid  about  six  miles  of  12- 
inch  wood  stave  pipe  five  or  six  years  ago  and 

161 


Method  of  Attempted  Repair  of  Wood 
Pipe  Joint 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


has  since  made  other  arrangements  for  water 

supply.    This  pipe  leaked  badly. 

Manufacturers  of  the  pipe  concluded  that 
the  pipe  was  sprung  on 
account  of  excessive 
pressures  due  to  re- 
duction valves  not 
working.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  pipe  was 
never  subjected  to  a 
pressure  above  100  Ibs., 
and  the  pipe  was  w^ell 
laid. 

NOTE. — Wood    pipe 
is  apparently  not  satis - 

Replaced  Wood  Pipe  Along  D.  L.  &     factory  in  a  pipe  line 

W.  R.  R.,  Jersey  Citv,  N.  .1.  i  ,  i 

where  there  are  gates 

or  other  appurtenances  of  a  water  supply  line 
that  by  quick  closing  may  render  fluctuations 
in  pressure,  causing  water  ram.  The  most 
satisfactory  experience  seems  to  be  in  un- 
covered lines  subject  to  from  50  feet  to  200 
feet  head  of  water. 

Extract  from  the  Decision  of  the  Conser- 
vation Commission  of  the  State  of  New  York 
in  RE:  Water  Supply  Application  No.  184, 
Village  of  LeRoy,  P.  6: 

"It  is  proposed  to  use  wooden  stave  pipe 
for  the  supply  line.  It  is  specified  that  this 

162 


WOOD   PIPE 


pipe  be  made  of  Douglas  fir,  one  and  one- 
quarter  inches  thick,  wound  with  wire.  Ex- 
perience in  this  State  with  wooden  pipe  has 
not  been  satisfactory,  and  there  seems  good 
reason  to  suppose  that  if  the  line  is  built 
as  proposed  it  wrill  leak  badly,  will  frequently 
fail,  and  that  its  life  will  be  short.  As  the 
continuous  operation  of  this  pipe  will  be 
depended  upon  to  give  fire  protection  for  this 
village,  the  fragile  nature  of  the  proposed 
construction  wrould  be  particularly  unfor- 
tunate. It  will  be  required  that  wooden  pipe 

shall    not     be     

used  in  this  line, 
but  that  it  be 
constructed  of 
standard  cast 
iron  pipe." 

The  pipe  line 
in  question  as 
proposed  was  to 
be  about  six 
miles  long,  and 

of  14 -inch  diameter,  wire-wTound  wooden  stave 
pipe. 

In  a  letter  dated  August  7,  1915,  to  one  of 
the  makers  of  cast  iron  pipe,  Mr.  Frank  Leahy, 
owner  of  the  Rogers  Water  Works,  Rogers, 
Texas,  writes: 

163 


Wood    Pipe    Replaced    With    Cast   Iron    Pipe    at 
Rogers  Texas 


PIPE  AND   THE  PUBLIC   WELFARE 


"Please  hurry  shipment  on  the  cast  iron 
pipe  ordered  from  you.  Am  having  lots 
of  trouble  with  the  wood  pipe  now  in  use 
and  the  City  threatens  to  bring  suit  on 
account  of  the  condition  of  the  streets. 
It  seems  impossible  to  keep  this  pipe  in 
repair,  one  leak  following  another  so 
rapidly  that  I  have  been  obliged  to  keep 
a  force  of  men  stopping  the  leaks.  The 
bands  have  now  begun  to  break  and  it  is 
useless  to  attempt  to  keep  in  repair  any 
longer.  The  only  remedy  is  to  replace 
it  with  iron  pipe,  and  I  trust  that  you  will 
get  this  pipe  to  me  as  soon  as  possible." 

This  pipe  maker  wrote  Mr.  Leahy,  asking 
permission  to  use  his  letter  and  under  date 
of  September  8,  1915,  received  the  following 
reply: 

"Your  favor  of  the  7th,  with  enclosures 
received  this  morning.  I  am  enclosing  the 
last  Kodak  picture  I  have,  which  will  give 
an  idea,  of  the  trouble  the  wood  pipe  caused 
me.  This  picture  was  taken  about  a 
year  ago.  I  replaced  about  1000  feet  of 
the  pipe  at  that  time.  These  extra  bands 
cost  me  $1.25  each  and  you  can  know  that 
it  wasn't  a  nice  job  to  put  them  on,  either, 

"I  am  not  anxious  to  let  people  know 
that  I  have  played  the  sucker  when  buy- 
ing the  wood  pipe,  but  in  order  to  keep 
others  from  making  the  same  mistake, 
you  may  use  the  previous  letter  for  what 
it  is  worth." 


164 


CONCLUSION 

No  reference  has  been  made  in  the  pre- 
ceeding  pages  to  concrete  or  clay  pipe  for  the 
reason  that  neither  of  these  is,  or  can  be, 
used  to  any  extent  as  pressure  conduits,  on 
account  of  their  limited  tensile  strength. 

Much  additional  data  could  be  presented 
on  metal  and  wood  pipe,  but  it  is  felt  that  the 
foregoing  is  sufficient  to  enable  any  interested 
and  open  minded  reader  to  decide  what  kind 
of  pipe  will  best  serve  his  own  or  the  public's 
purposes. 


165 


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